While Ah Wu was lost in his thoughts in the room, Ling Rui was already sitting at the breakfast table, eating.
As he ate, his face was filled with an unmistakable sweetness that Tang Er couldn’t help but notice. “What are you grinning about? Could it be that you’ve had a change of heart and are now looking forward to your wedding with Nan Shu?”
Ling Rui: “…”
The smile on Ling Rui’s face disappeared instantly.
He pulled a face, shoved an egg into his mouth, and muttered, “Don’t ruin my good mood. Nan Shu can marry whoever she wants, but not me.”
He spoke with determination. “I don’t like her at all.”
Nan Shu was actually quite pretty, but Ling Rui just didn’t feel anything for her.
Compared to Nan Shu, whom he saw frequently, it was Ah Wu, the one he had just brought back, who made his heart race!
Thinking about Ah Wu’s handsome face, Ling Rui was sure that he had fallen for him at first sight.
“You may not like her, but you’re going to get married. The village has already made most of the preparations,” Tang Er said, dismissing Ling Rui’s protest just like the rest of the village. All they wanted was for Ling Rui to stay and help the village continue the bloodline.
Ling Rui’s personal preferences didn’t matter.
“Tang Er, you’re always pushing me to get married. Why don’t you get married yourself?” Ling Rui asked, turning the questioning back on Tang Er.
Tang Er glanced at him and said calmly, “I will get married, just not now.”
“Not now? Then when?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
Ling Rui: “Ha.”
When it came to Tang Er’s own marriage, he didn’t want anyone meddling.
But he had no problem meddling in other people’s business!
Tang Er, acting as if he hadn’t heard Ling Rui’s sarcastic laugh, reached over with his chopsticks and placed a drumstick in Ling Rui’s bowl. Having eaten with Ling Rui so many times, he had learned a bit about his food preferences.
Sure enough, with the chicken leg, Ling Rui finally stopped sneering.
He ate breakfast, though only just barely.
He felt that the cooking here wasn’t that great, but in his memory, there was no recollection of enjoying fine food elsewhere.
“Come on, follow me for a bit.”
“No, I’m not going.”
Tang Er wanted to take Ling Rui to get some clothes, but Ling Rui refused and turned to leave, without giving Tang Er or Nan Shu any face.
As for the wedding with Nan Shu, he had long made up his mind.
As long as his legs weren’t broken and he wasn’t out of breath, he would never go through with it, even if it killed him!
Tang Er and the others were busy preparing for the wedding, which to him seemed completely ridiculous. Did these people think of him as some kind of decoration, ready to be propped up when the time came?
After shaking off Tang Er, Ling Rui wandered around outside for a while before heading to the kitchen.
He grabbed some food from the kitchen, intending to feed Ah Wu when he got back.
But when he opened the door to his room, he found it empty — Ah Wu was nowhere to be seen.
Ling Rui nearly dropped the hot, fragrant chicken leg in his hand. He refused to give up and inspected the room again, but still didn’t see Ah Wu.
“Where’s my Ah Wu?!”
Ling Rui was shocked. “Where did my Ah Wu go?!”
He had been excited to come back and cuddle with Ah Wu, but reality dumped a bucket of cold water on him.
Unable to find Ah Wu, Ling Rui slumped into a chair and muttered, “Does Ah Wu not like me at all?”
If Ah Wu didn’t like him at all, why had he put up with him last night?
Ling Rui couldn’t figure it out.
He sat there for a long time, his beautiful little face looking completely lost.
Meanwhile, Ah Wu, who wasn’t in the room, was out gathering information elsewhere.
Ah Wu had been tracking Tang Er.
During his surveillance, he witnessed some interesting things.
For instance, someone had come to ask Tang Er for an antidote.
“My husband has been here for so many years and has settled down. Second Master, I think it’s time to cure his poison. Keeping it in his system could harm his health.”
Ah Wu didn’t know what antidote the woman was asking for.
But when Tang Er handed it over, he warned, “You can cure the poison of fire, but be careful not to cure the other kind.”
The woman smiled. “Don’t worry, Second Master, I know what I’m doing. Besides, he loves the children deeply. Even if he remembers the past, he wouldn’t abandon them.”
“Mm, do what you think is best.”
This brief exchange was enough for Ah Wu to gather a lot of information.
Although Ah Wu had his suspicions, he didn’t act recklessly.
When it came to Ling Rui, he was always extra cautious.
After a day of scouting, Ah Wu had gathered a lot of intel.
It wasn’t until nightfall that Ah Wu returned to the room.
When he got back, he saw a small lump under the covers. He pulled the blanket back to reveal the tearful, red-eyed child beneath.
Ling Rui, who had been hiding under the blanket, was momentarily stunned when it was lifted.
He raised his head and stared blankly at Ah Wu.
Their eyes met, and in the next second, Ling Rui’s lips quivered as he asked in a hoarse voice, “Didn’t you leave?”
“I was just outside looking for a way.”
Ah Wu sat down and gently touched Ling Rui’s eyelids. “I told you, I’ll take you out of here.”
“The clan leader won’t let us leave, we can’t get out.”
“We can.”
Ah Wu began to share his discoveries from the day. “The people here are connected to the outside. Many of the things here can only be found out there.”
So, the people living here were definitely not as isolated as they claimed.
Ling Rui didn’t know the way out because they were afraid he would run.
Though Ah Wu couldn’t find the exact path he had taken to get here, he knew he could use force to find a way out if necessary.
The reason he hadn’t left yet was because of Ling Rui.
“Zai Zai.”
Ah Wu’s gaze softened as it landed on Ling Rui’s face. He whispered, “As long as you want to leave, I can take you away at any time.”
“You… let me think about it.”
The thought of leaving made Ling Rui’s head ache. He furrowed his brow and raised a hand to massage his temples.
Ah Wu grabbed his hand, stopping him from hitting himself.
Their hands intertwined, and Ling Rui naturally leaned in closer.
“Ah Wu, when we’re outside, I’m afraid I won’t be able to support you.”
Here in the clan, Ling Rui had food to eat, but he worried that once they left, he wouldn’t have the ability to take care of Ah Wu.
“It’s okay, I’m easy to take care of.”
Ah Wu pulled him into his arms, comforting him. “I don’t even need food.”
Ling Rui shook his head and said, “You still need to eat.”
With such a strong physique, Ah Wu needed food to maintain it.
The two of them continued chatting, the atmosphere becoming increasingly warm.
As the candle burned low, Ah Wu quietly observed the little one in his arms.
Luckily, Zai Zai was still clear-headed, only asking for kisses and not doing anything too out of line.
“Ah Wu, one more kiss. After that, I’ll go to sleep.”
“Okay.”
Ah Wu had long since given in to the kisses. He lowered his head and kissed Ling Rui on the lips, then urged him to sleep.
Even while sleeping, Ling Rui had to stay nestled in his arms, the two of them pressed tightly together with no space in between.
After lying down for a while, with his eyes closed, Ling Rui suddenly pulled out a book from under his pillow.
“Ah Wu, are you not sleepy?”
Ling Rui, holding the book, asked as he looked at Ah Wu, who didn’t seem tired.
Ah Wu hesitated before nodding slightly.
Seeing him nod, Ling Rui grinned and unhesitatingly handed the book over to him.
“Here, take it. I’m going to sleep now.”
After shoving the book over, Ling Rui closed his eyes and began to sleep.
Ah Wu held the book, glancing at Ling Rui’s slightly flushed face. Only then did he realize that something about the book seemed off. He hesitated for a few seconds but eventually opened it to check.
The book was filled with text and illustrations, and its style was quite… straightforward.
Ah Wu silently flipped through a few pages, then put the book down, needing a moment to process. But just as he set the book aside, Ling Rui opened his eyes just a sliver and silently pushed the book back into his hands, signaling for him to continue reading.
Ah Wu: “…”
Left with no choice, Ah Wu kept reading, hoping Ling Rui would fall asleep soon.
They made it through half the night like that, until Ling Rui finally couldn’t stay awake any longer and reluctantly closed his eyes to sleep.
Before drifting off, Ah Wu could still hear him muttering, “You’re reading so slow… fine, I’ll give you more time.”
Ling Rui thought Ah Wu was too slow at processing the content of the book, and so, besides some cuddling, nothing else happened that night.
The next day.
Before leaving, Ling Rui pressed his hands on Ah Wu’s shoulders and gave him a serious instruction: “Don’t run around today. Just stay in the room and finish reading the book. Once you’re done, you can go out.”
Ah Wu responded with a vague “Mm,” placating him.
After giving his instructions, Ling Rui leaned in close. Unable to resist, he planted a quick kiss on Ah Wu and whispered, “Once you finish the book, we can study together tonight.”
Ah Wu: “…”
This kind of “studying”… maybe it’s better to avoid.
Before Ah Wu could voice his refusal, Ling Rui had already left.
But that night, Ling Rui didn’t come back.
He had been detained.
When Ah Wu realized that Ling Rui hadn’t returned, he immediately went looking for him. He found him at a wedding hall.
The hall was perfectly set up, with Ling Rui in a wedding robe, standing next to the bride.
Ling Rui had his acupoints sealed, unable to speak. With his voice silenced, he couldn’t verbally protest. Not only was he mute, but he was also bound tightly.
Nan Mu’s brother was holding him down, forcing him to go through the wedding ceremony.
Ling Rui, being restrained, was so furious that his face turned red.
Just as he was about to try to resist, someone was suddenly kicked out of the wedding hall’s entrance.
Screams echoed through the air, and more and more people were either kicked flying or knocked to the ground.
Amidst the chaos, Ling Rui twisted his body desperately and saw Ah Wu walking towards him.
Ah Wu’s aura was terrifying.
Especially when he saw Ling Rui in a wedding robe, for the first time in front of Ling Rui, he didn’t suppress the dark expression on his face.
Tang Er tried to block him.
But after barely two blows, Tang Er was beaten so badly that he spat blood.
Ah Wu struck hard, but he spared Tang Er’s life.
Gripping Tang Er’s throat, Ah Wu spoke in a cold, measured tone, “Where’s the way out?”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll kill everyone here.”
He hadn’t wanted to go to such extremes, out of consideration for Ling Rui. But these people were asking for it.
Tang Er had originally planned to be defiant, but the moment he locked eyes with Ah Wu, his throat bobbed nervously. His stubborn words got stuck in his throat.
His instincts told him that the man in front of him was truly intent on killing him, and everyone else.
“I-I’ll tell you.”
Tang Er finally spoke with difficulty. “If you want to leave, I’ll take you out.”
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