Jiang Wu had always had a clear understanding of his identity.
A simple wandering soul, with a life goal of floating freely in the void, with no other desires.
Having existed for so long, Jiang Wu had encountered practitioners who could see him, some of whom even tried to eliminate him with swords. Yet when they saw him neither dodging nor avoiding, they often hesitated, unsure whether it was better to get rid of him or send him on to reincarnation.
Reincarnation wasn’t an option, as those eager to reincarnate were either dissatisfied with their current life, hoping to be born into a better one next time, or had achieved some form of fulfillment and were ready for a new experience.
Most still had some attachment to the world—whether it was the love of food, dreams of a career, or the desire for a vibrant life. In recent years, many young people were particularly attached to Wi-Fi.
These souls couldn’t wait to reincarnate, not even lingering long enough to become proper ghosts.
Having inexplicably wandered for thousands of years, Jiang Wu had only met a few practitioners who could see him. He’d been trapped in strange glass jars before, watching as the practitioners performed elaborate rituals, only to find him sitting there as calm as ever.
What… had happened? The practitioners would be perplexed, then after another flurry of actions, they realized he couldn’t be sent away.
Leaving him seemed useless… but then again, he could also leave anytime he wanted. The only reason he stayed was because he chose to. If he didn’t want to stay, he could drift away at any moment.
Some practitioners felt it was too cruel to get rid of him, given he wasn’t a vengeful spirit. Others simply couldn’t do it—he couldn’t be exorcised.
Jiang Wu had once seen a skilled practitioner try to kill him, only for a sudden lightning strike to incapacitate the man.
It had nothing to do with Jiang Wu—he hadn’t even tried to figure out why. After all, a human struck by lightning had nothing to do with a simple wandering soul like him.
It was just fate.
Now, this simple wandering soul was facing the most unusual experience of his existence.
Insomnia.
If being a human was full of misfortunes, then insomnia must be one of the greatest ones.
He didn’t understand it, nor did he want to. He only felt that the world was unjust, human nature was cruel, and the life of a wandering soul was lonely as snow. Perhaps it was better to simply vanish.
Yin Wuzhi: “…”
Insomnia… it was just insomnia. Wasn’t he overreacting a bit?
But while this might not be a big deal to others, for Jiang Wu, who was deeply troubled by it, it might feel as devastating as an ordinary person being diagnosed with a terminal illness.
A wave of sympathy suddenly washed over Yin Wuzhi.
After a brief silence, he softly comforted, “It’s not your fault. Blame me. If I hadn’t been punished, none of this would’ve happened.”
Jiang Wu looked at him.
Yin Wuzhi sincerely added, “Even if it’s not my fault, then it’s Heaven’s fault.”
Jiang Wu blinked, his discomfort palpable, and raised his hand to rub his eyes.
Qi Hanmiao was stunned.
…How uncomfortable must he be to rub his own eyes?
He was using his own hands to rub his eyes!
Yin Wuzhi frowned and told Qi Hanmiao, “Go get something for His Majesty’s eyes.”
Qi Hanmiao reacted quickly, “I’ll find something to help His Majesty immediately.”
After Qi Hanmiao left, Jiang Wu looked at Yin Wuzhi again.
His complexion still wasn’t good. The Great Empress Dowager’s punishment had been harsher than usual.
Jiang Wu struggled to focus on the matter at hand. “How much longer until you recover?”
Yin Wuzhi, noticing Jiang Wu’s drooping eyelids, knew his eye muscles must be tense. Wanting to help, but unable to get up due to Empress Dowager Wen’s orders, he replied, “Fifty strokes. They say it’ll take ten days or half a month.”
“Can’t move at all?” Jiang Wu’s voice faltered, as he struggled to keep himself coherent through the aftermath of insomnia. “I want to lie in your bed.”
This was a perfect opportunity to torment Yin Wuzhi. He was already severely injured, and Jiang Wu’s insistence on being close might increase his suffering—and, hopefully, his resentment. But mainly, Jiang Wu just wanted to lie down.
“Your Majesty… the bed in Taiji Palace is bigger and more comfortable.”
“I want this one.”
“….” Yin Wuzhi reluctantly shifted further inside the bed.
Jiang Wu: “Carry.”
“I… I’m injured.”
“Carry.”
It was perfect. Torturing him while he was in pain, combining physical and emotional distress—surely Yin Wuzhi would hate him for this.
Yin Wuzhi’s expression was complicated.
Even in this condition, Jiang Wu still wanted to sleep next to him and force him to hold him. He truly both wanted closeness and hoped for resentment.
Yin Wuzhi, pretending to struggle, strained his muscles to make it look like a real effort, even forcing sweat to break out on his forehead.
Finally, Yin Wuzhi got out of bed and gently lifted Jiang Wu, placing him further inside.
Jiang Wu saw his flushed face and the sweat on his forehead, realizing he was truly in pain. “Lie down.”
Silently, Yin Wuzhi laid beside him.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
To be fair, it was hard to fake sweating.
“Yin Wuzhi, get better soon.”
“Mm.”
“I still have many memorials to review. If you don’t, no one will.”
“…Oh.” Stubborn but soft-hearted.
The door creaked softly as Qi Hanmiao halted at the entrance, quietly stepping inside. “Your Majesty, use this on your eyes. It should help a bit.”
Yin Wuzhi took the compress and placed it on Jiang Wu’s eyes. “You may go now, Qi. I’ll take care of His Majesty.”
Even without being told, Qi Hanmiao knew when to leave.
The door closed again.
Jiang Wu closed his eyes. The warmth on his eyelids felt pleasant, though he couldn’t quite tell what was inside the soft cloth. It remained warm, continuously soothing.
Although he hadn’t tried this before, he couldn’t deny that it felt rather nice.
But, he still couldn’t sleep.
“Yin Wuzhi.”
“Hmm?”
“I can’t sleep.”
“I see.” Yin Wuzhi, serious, suggested, “Your Majesty, can you think of why you can’t sleep?”
Jiang Wu tried to reflect, then replied, “Because I’m worried.”
Yin Wuzhi gently pressed his temples, his voice soft, “Worried about what?”
“I’m worried about not being able to sleep.”
“…” Yin Wuzhi asked, “Think back to last night—what was it that kept you from sleeping?”
It was because Yin Wuzhi was beaten. He couldn’t understand the Great Empress Dowager’s actions, and he was worried that Yin Wuzhi was seriously hurt, that the Great Empress Dowage might gain even more resentment and he wouldn’t kill him later. Plus, despite his injuries, Yin Wuzhi insisted on holding him. There was also the matter of not knowing how long Yin Wuzhi would take to recover, and who would handle the memorials in the meantime…
“Many things,” Jiang Wu said, unwilling to elaborate.
Yin Wuzhi got the hint and responded, “If it’s because of me, Your Majesty needn’t worry. I’ll be more careful in the future and won’t act so impulsively.”
Jiang Wu said nothing. His mind shifted from concerns about Yin Wuzhi to an overarching worry about his frequent insomnia, skipping over everything else. He began to focus solely on the fact that he couldn’t sleep.
And that realization only made it worse.
Jiang Wu said, “It’s not warm anymore.”
Yin Wuzhi called out, and someone quickly came in from outside. He took the new compress and replaced the old one for Jiang Wu. Upon removing the previous one, he noticed Jiang Wu’s eyes were slightly reddened from the heat, and his eyelashes damp.
That sight was quickly obscured by the fresh compress.
“Your Majesty, are you asleep?”
“No.”
“Still can’t sleep?”
“I’m worried about not being able to sleep.”
“…” You keep worrying about not sleeping, and of course, it makes it even harder to fall asleep. Yin Wuzhi sighed, “Try to clear your mind, don’t think about anything.”
“I’m too preoccupied,” Jiang Wu’s voice was soft. “I can’t empty my mind.”
It was unclear whether his preoccupation was Yin Wuzhi or his insomnia. Yin Wuzhi didn’t take it personally and advised, “Try to set your worries aside for now… Can’t you use that technique to seal your senses?”
At the mention of that, Yin Wuzhi couldn’t help but chuckle lightly, coaxing him, “Maybe if you seal your senses again, you’ll fall asleep.”
Jiang Wu didn’t respond.
It didn’t work. It still wasn’t working.
He was getting frustrated. Sleep was a top priority, and if this kept happening, he felt he wouldn’t be able to tolerate the world much longer, regardless of its historical progress.
“Yin Wuzhi.”
“Yes?”
“I need you to soothe me to sleep.”
“…I don’t know any lullabies.”
“If you can’t, I’ll have you beaten with another twenty strokes.”
Yin Wuzhi: “…”
He lifted his hand, his fingers rigid. After a long pause, they slowly landed on Jiang Wu’s body, patting gently. He tried to recall the way people in the southern regions soothed children, and from his nose came a strange, soft hum.
Jiang Wu closed his eyes in silence.
In a daze, he felt like he had heard this tune somewhere before.
It was clumsy but gentle.
Yin Wuzhi’s hand stroked his long hair, slowly, rhythmically, as Jiang Wu’s consciousness began to drift further and further away, traveling back through time. Although he couldn’t quite recall the melody, the growing drowsiness finally led him to sleep.
“Your Majesty?”
Jiang Wu had finally fallen asleep. His breathing was soft and light, almost imperceptible unless one listened closely.
He was sound asleep.
Yin Wuzhi removed the cloth from his eyes. The warmth had faded, and he carefully wiped away the moisture around Jiang Wu’s eyes. Leaning down, he rubbed the tip of his nose against Jiang Wu’s gently.
Finally asleep. He pressed his forehead to Jiang Wu’s and whispered, “Good afternoon.”
Jiang Wu slept until dusk. The first thing he did when he woke up was start to worry—would he be able to sleep tonight?
“Your Majesty.”
Yin Wuzhi noticed the change in his breathing and said, “Awake? Would you like something to eat?”
It took a full quarter of an hour before Jiang Wu slowly opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling, still preoccupied with the thought of not being able to sleep.
“Your Majesty?”
Jiang Wu rolled his eyes.
He was finally well-rested, his gaze regaining the lifeless, doll-like quality it had before, his expression once again dull and indifferent.
Yin Wuzhi was relieved. Even though the insomniac Jiang Wu showed a bit more vitality, he preferred him this way—lifeless but comfortable, without suffering.
Jiang Wu stared at him, temporarily setting aside his anxiety. “Can you go to the Imperial Study today?”
“My injuries…” Yin Wuzhi, bad at lying, averted his gaze, conflicted. “Are quite severe.”
“That bad?”
“Of course it’s bad.” Yin Wuzhi wanted to see his reaction. “After all, it was fifty strokes.”
Jiang Wu must have felt awful knowing Yin Wuzhi had taken those fifty strokes. Though he claimed to suffer from insomnia, the truth was, if Yin Wuzhi hadn’t been beaten, Jiang Wu wouldn’t have had trouble sleeping at all.
While Yin Wuzhi’s injuries weren’t as serious as they seemed, Jiang Wu’s insomnia was very real.
Yin Wuzhi didn’t want to torment him, but he did hope to see some emotion from Jiang Wu’s face. His affection was hidden so deep that sometimes, Yin Wuzhi thought perhaps Empress Dowager Wen hadn’t been entirely wrong.
Though it was surely impossible, he still wanted to see more.
Only when Jiang Wu was no longer ashamed of exposing his emotions would he have truly moved on.
Although Yin Wuzhi claimed not to care about Jiang Wu, he was still his subject. He had to care about his emperor and naturally hoped that he would recover quickly.
Fifty lashes, Jiang Wu thought. Yin Wuzhi must be in terrible pain.
He needed to use this time to make Yin Wuzhi realize just how much of a b*stard he was.
“Clothes.”
“…?” Yin Wuzhi asked, “What about them?”
Jiang Wu stared at his collar. “Take them off.”
Was he asking to see his injuries? Yin Wuzhi replied, “It’s nothing, really. Besides, the wounds are on my back. They don’t look good.”
“Take them off.”
Yin Wuzhi had no choice but to rise. He hadn’t seen his back, so he wasn’t sure if he could fool Jiang Wu. His hesitation made him move slowly, which in Jiang Wu’s eyes looked like he was really in pain.
“I’m not looking at the wounds,” Jiang Wu interrupted.
Yin Wuzhi paused. If not the wounds, then what?
Hesitantly, he sat beside the reclining emperor.
“Take them off.”
“Stop messing around,” Yin Wuzhi warned, feeling frustration bubble up. If this continued, he’d really be angry.
“Hurry.”
Yin Wuzhi furrowed his brow and pulled off one sleeve, his expression darkening. “What exactly do you want—”
“Lie down.”
Annoyed, Yin Wuzhi laid down beside him, glaring at Jiang Wu with rising irritation.
No man liked being treated this way. Even though Yin Wuzhi understood Jiang Wu’s intentions, he still felt an intense distaste for such treatment. He had been so good to him, yet Jiang Wu continued to treat him with such an attitude.
Fine. If he kept being this way, Yin Wuzhi wouldn’t care about him anymore and would leave him to fend for himself.
“Touch.”
“?” Yin Wuzhi’s face flushed, then paled. “What?”
“Take my hand and touch.”
