Chapter 33
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The carriage moved slowly forward, and Chu Xie was wrapped in a thick fur coat. He regained some consciousness and murmured for water. In no time, a bamboo tube with water was brought to his lips, quenching his burning thirst.
As his vision cleared, he realized he was inside a carriage. Although the carriage was spacious, the windows were tightly closed, and the curtains were drawn.
Almost in an instant, Chu Xie’s heart constricted, and he took a deep breath, huddling up his entire body.
“Open…”
Xu Chunmu was startled and quickly supported him. “Open what?”
“Open the window…”
He heard it clearly, and he opened the window with some suspcion, letting in the cold breeze. Xu Chunmu pulled the fur coat more tightly around Chu Xie, helping him sit back and lean against himself. “Is this better?”
Chu Xie nodded after a while.
After some time, in a hoarse voice, he asked, “Where are we…”
“I’m taking you back to the northern border.”
Xu Chunmu’s voice held firmness. “Don’t be afraid. I will protect you.”
Protect me? Forget it. I’m the one who has to protect you, right?
Chu Xie felt suffocated and opened the system: “What’s going on? Who is the one occupying my body?”
“Host, I just checked the compatibility and found that the person’s soul in your body has a 93% compatibility with yours. Based on this value, he should be the original owner of this body, the real Chu Xie. Like Xu Chunmu, he was supposed to be reborn, but while Xu Chunmu successfully reborned, he failed, and his soul was squeezed into your body…”
Soul compatibility of 93%?
I have such a high compatibility with a person who committed such evil deeds?
Chu Xie’s head was pounding as he listened. “Why can he also be reborn? What’s the story with this past-life plot?”
“Host, please unlock the plot. With over 90% completion of the plot, you can unlock all the original storylines… Your mission is now complete. Next, you just need to help the original owner keep Xu Chunmu alive and make the original owner willingly give up his body, and then you can directly be reborn…”
Chu Xie felt stifled in his heart.
Suddenly, enlightenment dawned on him.
“You know, did the original plot derail because the tools of both sides fell in love?”
“…?”
The host has a strange logic, seeing things that aren’t there!
But it does make some sense!
However, something still doesn’t seem right.
“But, Host, this original novel, it’s a political intrigue story… How could it have gone so far off course?”
Chu Xie didn’t mind, “Well, the male lead of that political intrigue, Jiang Yanchi, also ended up strangely deviating. Anything is possible.”
“The love-hate relationship, the deep romance, is that how the plot goes off the rails?” Chu Xie concluded with determination, “So they both plan to be reborn because they want to continue their fate!”
The system said, “Here’s a pen for you. You write…”
After a while, he pondered and asked, “Is this Xu Chunmu from the derailed plot? What’s the use of unlocking the original plot? I don’t even know what kind of person he became in his past life. He seems so simple, I can just get answers directly from him.”
Is he really simple?
Xu Chunmu’s character is just straightforward, isn’t it? He’s not single-minded. Are you sure you can get answers from him?
The system hesitated, but in the end, it felt that the host had a magical ability to follow the plot, so getting answers from Xu Chunmu was not out of the question.
“…Makes sense. You, come up with a way to get the answers.”
Chu Xie turned off the system and looked at Xu Chunmu in front of him, asking directly, “Why did you save me?”
Xu Chunmu held him, feeling extraordinarily warm.
“A long time ago, you saved me. Now, I am saving you.”
This guy is really straightforward.
Chu Xie’s voice sounded puzzled, “But I don’t remember saving you.”
“It doesn’t matter. I remember.”
Oh, he’s actually quite loyal.
Wait a minute, he means that in that derailed timeline, the original Chu Xie saved Xu Chunmu.
It’s really funny that the ‘Chu Xie’ character, who is full of evil deeds, could save someone. Who would derail this guy if not you?
He cast another glance at Xu Chunmu and thought to himself. Xu Chunmu, who exuded an air of righteousness and was indeed delicate and handsome, resembled a white moonlight character. Perhaps the main villain had a taste for him.
Looking at the man who was gazing at the vast sky outside, “You’ve asked me questions, and I’ve answered them. Now, can I ask you questions?”
“If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to. But don’t lie to me.”
Xu Chunmu could really be a philosopher.
He always spoke in a roundabout manner.
“You can ask.”
“Are you a Yue Clan person?”
Chu Xie shuddered, thinking that the Young Marquis Xu would ask why he had to kill Chen Lianzhou, or how he had faked his death and come back to life. He didn’t expect him to ask this question.
Chu Xie’s identity as a person had not yet been unlocked; it required a plot completion of 90% to reveal. But based on Chu Xie’s past experience in following the plot, he had some vague guesses about the original owner’s identity.
“No.”
Xu Chunmu fell silent for a moment and then asked, “Not a Yue Clan person, are you surnamed Shen?”
Chu Xie didn’t answer.
It seemed like Xu Chunmu had forgotten that he had just said he didn’t have to answer if he didn’t want to. He turned to Chu Xie and asked, “Who is Shen Qianan to you?”
“I’ve never heard of anyone named Shen Qianan.”
“Oh.”
Xu Chunmu didn’t ask any further and just pulled Chu Xie closer, avoiding the numerous wounds on his body. He spoke quietly, “It doesn’t matter, I’ll take you back to the Northern Territory. As long as you can return to that place, you won’t have to live cautiously anymore. No matter what secrets you have, as long as you don’t want to reveal them, no one can dig them out from you.”
Xu Chunmu didn’t dare to drive the carriage too fast, fearing that the repeated bumps might aggravate the man’s old injuries. However, he was feeling a bit impatient in his heart, worried that people from the capital might catch up with them on the way.
At this speed, it would still be three days before they could enter the Thirteen Counties of the Northern Territory.
Just let Chu Xie from the capital die completely.
No matter who you are, from now on, you will only live in the Northern Territory.
Chu Xie began to think about the plot again.
Now that all the plot tasks had been completed, as long as he protected Xu Chunmu for another nine months, he should be able to truly be reborn. Going to the Northern Territory with Xu Chunmu would be a good choice, bypassing all the future plotlines and letting the little prince ascend to the throne on his own.
However, without him as the fake ally and Xu Chunmu as the real ally, could the little prince really ascend to the throne on his own in nine months?
Chu Xie was feeling a bit worried.
“Actually, I have one more question.”
“You can ask.”
“Is the ‘Chu Xie’ who wanted to frame Chen Lianzhou at the banquet that day really you?”
“Who else could it be if not me? Do I have a twin brother or something?”
“Why were you so different that day compared to how you are now? It was as if there are two different people.”
Why else? I’m good at acting.
Chu Xie sighed in his heart and snuggled into the blanket. “I don’t want to answer, can I not answer?”
Xu Chunmu paused for a moment, a hint of Amusement in his eyes. “You can.”
Well, then I won’t answer.
Xu Chunmu was unlike Jiang Yanchi, he wasn’t aggressive. He was a true gentleman. Completing tasks with him was much easier than with Jiang Yanchi, that scoundrel.
He didn’t even need to come up with elaborate lies.
Chu Xie yawned, and then he heard Xu Chunmu say, “Are you tired? Then sleep for a while. We’ll be there in a few days.”
Just at that moment, the carriage came to a halt with a sudden pull. Xu Chunmu’s eyes narrowed slightly as he raised the curtain and looked at the person blocking the road outside. He asked, “Who are you?”
Could it be that someone from the capital had sensed something unusual so quickly?
“Young Marquis.”
The person dismounted and handed a letter to Xu Chunmu. “Our master would like to advise Young Marquis not to get involved in matters and people that should not be involved.”
“The capital may be corrupt, but it’s also clear. Any little movement cannot be hidden.”
The young man’s voice was low and slightly hoarse, as if it had been worn down by the gritty wind.
“Oh?” Xu Chunmu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. “I wonder which noble in the capital is giving me this advice.”
He recalled some crucial conversations he had overheard while staying at the Chu Mansion. He focused his thoughts and asked, “So it’s Lord Su.”
The servant didn’t speak, only took a few steps back and then leaped onto the horse, disappearing into the path beside the passage.
Unfolding the letter, it had only seven words written on it.
Chu Xie must not leave the capital.
After careful consideration, he lifted the curtain and gently pushed Chu Xie, who was starting to feel drowsy, and asked with urgency, “Do you have any secret dealings with Lord Su Mingan?”
Upon hearing the name Su Mingan, Chu Xie instantly woke up.
Xu Chunmu had only been in the capital for a few days, yet he managed to uncover this relationship. Chu Xie furrowed his brows and replied vaguely, “We are both officials serving in the same court; how can we not know each other?”
But Xu Chunmu had more thoughts in mind.
“Ten years ago, there was a major case involving the illegal sale of warhorses in the Northern Territory. Were you involved with Chen Qimo in that operation? Where did all that silver go?”
Chu Xie thought, “D*mn, if you asked your old man you will know. Back then, it was your grandfather and your father who teamed up to steal my money pouch!”
“What are you talking about, Young Marquis? I don’t know anyone named Chen Qimo.”
Xu Chunmu didn’t press further.
After returning to his seat, he made a decision. “Speed up the journey. We must reach the Northern Territory within two days.”
The faster pace made Chu Xie’s wounds ache slightly.
Unable to sleep, Chu Xie stewed in annoyance. He had a bit of resentment because of this situation. Even in his sleep, he furrowed his brows due to the medications he was given.
They hurried along, and finally, on the evening of the second day, they arrived.
Chu Xie had not yet woken up when Xu Chunmu carried him directly to the city gate. To their surprise, as soon as the gate was opened slightly, it was immediately closed again.
Looking up, Xu Chunmu saw his father, Xu Chengjin, standing on the city tower, looking solemn.
“Mu Er, who is the person in your arms?”
Xu Chunmu sensed that something was amiss from his father’s tone. He could only answer honestly, “It’s Chu Xie.”
Xu Chengjin’s expression changed immediately. After a moment of contemplation, he said, “The current situation is tense, and we in the Northern Territory cannot accommodate this giant figure. Take him back.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Chunmu knelt down in a hurry and pleaded urgently, “Father, we can’t send him back; he will die! Please open the gate!”
“An eunuch, what does it matter whether he lives or dies?”
Xu Chengjin’s face darkened, and his words became stern. “Have you lost your mind? Quickly take him back; don’t implicate our Xu family.”
Xu Chunmu hadn’t expected to be stopped at the city gate. Now caught between a rock and a hard place, he could only plead further, “Father…”
“Enough!”
Several loud voices woke Chu Xie up. Seeing the situation in front of him, he first got down from Xu Chunmu’s arms and then stood still, looking up at the figure of General Xu.
Xu Chengjin looked carefully at Chu Xie’s exquisite face, hidden beneath a magnificent cloak, with those bright, autumn-like eyes. He was becoming increasingly infuriated.
Could it be that he was captivated by this troublemaker’s face?
Since when had his child become so infatuated with beauty?
“Hurry, hurry, send him back. Whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with our Xu family!”
“Father!”
The dispute was in vain, and their journey was interrupted once again. Xu Chunmu had no choice but to support Chu Xie back into the carriage and comfort him, saying, “Don’t worry, even if we don’t go to the Northern Territory, I will find a way to accommodate you.”
Chu Xie looked at Xu Chunmu and asked, “Young Marquis Xu, why do you insist on saving me?”
Xu Chunmu was taken aback by the question.
“You said I saved you, so if you save me once, wouldn’t that even things out? Why do you keep saving me time and time again?”
Author’s Note: No change in gong
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