I, The Substitute, Am With The Main Character Chapter 100

“I won’t let you go hungry.” Yi Yefeng took the meat pie from Xueya’s hand. “It’s already cold. Don’t eat this. Let’s go get some wontons.”

Hearing that they were going to have wontons, Xueya was startled. “Do we still have money?”

“They gave me an extra payment today.”

Xueya hesitated for a moment but couldn’t resist the temptation of wontons. Since they didn’t have enough money to buy a horse anyway, spending it on two bowls of wontons didn’t seem like such a big deal.

When Yi Yefeng ordered the wontons, he asked the owner to make them extra-large. After finishing a full bowl, Xueya’s stomach was bulging. On the way back to the clinic, they passed a pawnshop. Yi Yefeng paused at the entrance and told Xueya to wait outside.

It wasn’t long before Yi Yefeng came out. Seeing him, Xueya asked, “Did you pawn something?”

Yi Yefeng nodded.

“What did you pawn?”

Xueya had been with Yi Yefeng the past few days and hadn’t seen anything valuable on him.

“Just a small thing,” Yi Yefeng replied, clearly not wanting to discuss it further. His face expressionless, he changed the subject. “Let’s go back to the clinic to change your bandages.”

Xueya, knowing he wasn’t that close to Yi Yefeng, felt awkward pressing further. If it were He Xulan, he would have asked more, but since it was Yi Yefeng, he kept quiet and walked back in silence.

At the clinic, the doctor changed Xueya’s bandages again, but his expression was grim. He said Xueya’s wounds were healing slowly, still showing signs of bleeding after so many days, and that it would likely take more time to heal. Xueya felt downcast at the thought of having to stay longer, his mood heavy both day and night.

That night, after bathing, Xueya knelt on a stool, absentmindedly doodling with tea on the table. Suddenly, Yi Yefeng rushed in. Without saying a word, he quickly walked over to the screen, grabbed the cloak hanging there, and wrapped it around Xueya.

After bundling Xueya up, Yi Yefeng pulled his feet out and put shoes on him.

Yi Yefeng’s unusual behavior made Xueya immediately think of something bad. While helping Yi Yefeng put the shoes on, he asked, “Are the soldiers after us?”

“The city has started posting wanted notices. We can’t stay here any longer. I’ve already asked the doctor to pack enough medicine for the next half-month. We’re leaving tonight.” After putting the shoes on Xueya, Yi Yefeng picked him up and headed out.

Xueya wanted to say that he could walk on his own but was afraid of wasting time and being caught by the soldiers, so he remained silent. Yi Yefeng’s newly purchased horse was waiting in the back courtyard. He placed Xueya on the horse and quickly ran to the front courtyard. Moments later, he returned with a bundle of items, mounted the horse, and they headed for the city gate.

The night wind was bitterly cold, especially as the horse galloped. Xueya shivered involuntarily, and in the next instant, Yi Yefeng’s arm, which had been holding him securely, pulled him closer into his embrace.

Not only that, but Yi Yefeng also undid his outer robe and wrapped Xueya inside it. Yi Yefeng’s body was warm, and the cold seemed to melt away instantly. Though Xueya enjoyed the warmth, since it was coming from Yi Yefeng, he turned his head and said, “When we get to Kangwu County, I won’t report you, and I’ll even say something nice about you. But my brother is mine alone—you can’t steal him.”

Yi Yefeng lowered his head slightly. The person in his arms had just bathed, and a sweet fragrance drifted up to his nose, not from soap, but seemingly from his body itself.

“He’ll be emperor one day,” Yi Yefeng suddenly said.

Xueya had once thought about how often he’d want to see He Xulan each month after he became emperor, but after dreaming of He Xulan’s failed rebellion, he had stopped thinking about it. Since He Xulan had failed, he would only have him to rely on. Not wanting to share his dream with Yi Yefeng, he simply replied, “Even then, he’s still mine.”

As they spoke, they reached the city gate.

It wasn’t yet time for the gates to close, and the night watch guards weren’t paying much attention. After a brief glance at Xueya and Yi Yefeng, they let them pass. But not long after they exited, a voice shouted from behind.

“Hey, you on the horse, stop!” The voice yelled, followed by cursing. “They just posted the wanted notice! You didn’t check the faces carefully—how could you let them out? Are you even using your brain?!”

Hearing the commotion behind them, Yi Yefeng immediately urged the horse to run faster. The guards, realizing they hadn’t stopped, became suspicious, especially since an official had just come to post the wanted notices. This official had just finished drinking with the local officials and decided to check on the notices when he saw someone leaving the city. Sensing something was wrong, he quickly pulled out a signal flare and fired it into the sky.

***

Although the horse Yi Yefeng had bought was the best in the city, it couldn’t compare to the imperial horses, especially with two people riding it. Even with Yi Yefeng’s excellent riding skills, the sounds of the pursuing soldiers grew closer, close enough for Xueya to hear clearly. In his panic, Xueya tried to look back, but Yi Yefeng’s large hand pressed his head down. “Don’t look.”

“They… they’re catching up.” Xueya’s voice trembled, even though he didn’t want it to.

Yi Yefeng didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled out the dagger from his waist and, with a backward motion, stabbed the horse hard on its rear. The horse let out a painful cry and bolted forward. As it rushed ahead, long branches whipped past them. Yi Yefeng pressed Xueya down with his body to shield him, and once the branches were behind them, he lifted him back up.

The pursuing soldiers noticed the horse speeding up. The leading officer furrowed his brows for a moment before shouting, “Shoot the horse with arrows!”

The thick night made visibility poor, and even the well-trained cavalry couldn’t guarantee accurate shots, so they opted for a rain of arrows. Yi Yefeng’s ears twitched slightly as he yanked the reins to change direction quickly. Then, he pulled out a packet from his chest, ripped it open, and scattered the contents along the path.

He had bought these nails earlier from a nearby general store when he purchased the horse.

Not long after scattering them, they heard shouts from the pursuing soldiers.

“There’s something on the ground—watch out!”

Although they tried to be careful, the night was too dark. Yi Yefeng led the horse toward a steep mountain slope. The dim moonlight made it nearly impossible to spot the small nails on the ground. Many horses stepped on them, and the further they went, the more nails they encountered. This caused the horses to hesitate and eventually refuse to move. Although some soldiers were held back, many continued the chase.

Fearing that Yi Yefeng might have more tricks up his sleeve, the archers stopped aiming solely at the horse’s legs.

Suddenly, Xueya felt Yi Yefeng’s body shake. He froze for a second and then felt it again. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Yi Yefeng’s hand.

Yi Yefeng had been shot, but he showed no signs of pain and kept riding forward. It wasn’t until the horse, riddled with arrows, collapsed that Yi Yefeng leapt off, holding Xueya tightly as they hit the ground.

Without a moment’s pause, Yi Yefeng carried Xueya and started running. The way he held Xueya, cradling him like a child, almost entirely shielded Xueya’s body with his own. From this angle, Xueya could clearly see the arrow embedded in Yi Yefeng’s arm, almost piercing straight through.

Yet he was still carrying Xueya with that same arm.

Xueya’s lips trembled. He was about to speak when Yi Yefeng suddenly dove to the ground, covering Xueya as a rain of arrows whizzed by overhead.

Xueya felt Yi Yefeng’s body tremble again.

After experiencing this three times, Xueya understood what that tremble meant. If it weren’t for him, Yi Yefeng probably would have killed those soldiers long ago. But because he had to take Xueya with him, he couldn’t escape, and Yi Yefeng didn’t have time to hide him somewhere. Instead, he became a target.

Once the arrows stopped, Yi Yefeng stood up again, trying to lift Xueya, but Xueya rolled away from his grasp. “Go, leave me. If you keep dragging me with you, we’ll both die.”

Yi Yefeng frowned and reached out to lift Xueya again, but Xueya suddenly slapped him hard. “Didn’t you hear me? I told you to go! Stop following me like a dog! The Emperor… the Emperor likes me. After my affair with my brother was exposed, the Emperor didn’t kill me. He even… favored me. Do you know what that means? Leave, go tell He Xulan that I regret it. I regret running off with him.”

After saying this, he saw Yi Yefeng still standing there, unmoving. Desperate, he slapped Yi Yefeng again. “Get lost! I told you to get lost! None of you will stand in the way of my riches and power!”

As he said the last part, Xueya was trembling all over. “Since leaving the palace, every single day, I’ve regretted it. If I die tonight in this hail of arrows, I’ll haunt you all as a ghost. I beg you, don’t ruin my life anymore, okay?”

But even after hearing all this, Yi Yefeng still tried to lift Xueya from the ground. Summoning strength from who knows where, Xueya shoved Yi Yefeng away. Then he quickly stood up and ran toward the pursuing soldiers, shouting, “I’m Xueya! I’m not running anymore!”

Strangely, the lead officer among the soldiers, upon hearing this, immediately shouted, “Cease fire!”

When Xueya shouted those words, his legs were weak, but when he noticed the soldiers stopped shooting, he couldn’t help but look back.

Yi Yefeng was gone.