Chapter 78
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After entering the palace, the fragrance of osmanthus was overwhelmed by the sandalwood, and the unique and distant incense that permeated the temple filled the air. Following the servant ahead, Pei Yunshu passed through two exquisitely carved wooden doors and finally saw the expressionless general standing against the wall.
The general’s expression softened upon seeing Pei Yunshu, taking two steps forward, “Immortal Master.”
Pei Yunshu looked around, “Where is he?”
Zhuyou held one of his hands, lazily leaning against his father, and glanced over at the general.
The general frowned, speaking in a deep voice, “The Emperor has fallen ill again.”
He looked troubled, and until now, Pei Yunshu only knew from him that the Emperor had a strange illness, but what kind of illness it was, the general kept it a secret.
Pei Yunshu’s curiosity was piqued, “What kind of illness is it that makes the general so troubled?”
The general looked at him, and Pei Yunshu felt like his gaze could see through everything. After a momentary change in expression, the general turned and led Pei Yunshu into the room, closing the door firmly after Pei Yunshu and Zhuyou entered.
Inside the room was a large hot spring.
A person was bound in the spring, tied with red ropes all over, with bloodshot eyes and a fierce expression, struggling and colliding with the edges of the pool. The ropes on his body were tightly bound, leaving dark and terrifying marks on his flesh, but what was even more chilling was that every time he collided with the edge of the pool, his facial expression would suddenly change, as if experiencing a brief relief from pain, followed by a more ferocious expression.
It seemed as if pain for him was a desperate relief.
“Emperor!” The general clenched his fists, unable to bear watching.
The Emperor’s appearance at this moment was truly miserable. He probably had a handsome face, but it was impossible to discern whether it was good or bad now, except for the intense self-inflicted madness.
“Get out…” The Emperor regained a moment of sanity upon hearing the question. He spat out the word through his teeth, “Get out of here.”
He tried hard to control himself, not wanting to perform such ugly and disgusting actions in front of his officials. But within a few seconds, he struggled again, attempting to collide with the surface of the pool.
Pei Yunshu subconsciously controlled his movement.
“General,” Pei Yunshu looked calm, ignoring the Emperor’s furious, bloodshot eyes fixed on him, “Is this the strange part you mentioned?”
The general nodded heavily.
After some thought, Pei Yunshu turned his head and said to him, “Why don’t you go out first, General? I want to take a closer look at him.”
The general hesitated for a moment, then turned and left, standing by the door, waiting considerately.
Pei Yunshu cast a barrier and walked to the edge of the pool. Glancing at the pitiful Emperor, he took off his shoes and socks, casually sitting by the pool and soaking his feet. He completely ignored the Emperor’s glaring eyes.
Not only that, he also called Zhuyou to sit beside him. “Yunjiao, come and soak your feet too. The spring water has herbs added to it. Although it has no benefit for us, it is indeed very comfortable.”
Zhuyou also unceremoniously took off his shoes and sat next to Pei Yunshu. When he dipped his feet into the water, he nodded, “Father is right.”
Fresh fruits and crystal-clear drinks were placed by the pool, all exquisite and harmless. Pei Yunshu found it amusing and laughed directly, “The Emperor is bound and placed in the pool, with no palace maids around. Are these things here for us to eat?”
Zhuyou pulled the fruit plate to his side, looked down for a moment, picked two plump and round grapes, and shared them with Pei Yunshu.
As if they were in their own home, they enjoyed the Emperor’s fresh fruits, took the Emperor’s personal hot spring water as a foot soak, and began to eat without a care.
The Emperor, frozen in place, stared at them for a long time until his eyes felt sore, and they never looked in his direction. Unable to endure, he closed his eyes and suppressed his anger, saying in a low voice, “Who are you people!”
Although he was furious, his voice was extremely low, as if afraid of alarming others.
Holding a fruit, Pei Yunshu looked towards him and took a bite. Thoughtfully, he said, “These fruits are very sweet. Emperor, don’t you want to try one?”
The Emperor, angered by their actions, rolled his eyes at Pei Yunshu.
Putting down the fruit, Pei Yunshu clapped his hands and asked in confusion, “Since you’re not under a curse, why pretend to be insane?”
He casually untied the ropes and spells binding the Emperor.
Seeing the situation turning against him, the Emperor’s expression changed for a moment, but quickly calmed down. He threw the red rope on his body into the water, scrutinizing Pei Yunshu and Zhuyou. Pei Yunshu thought he would say something, but the Emperor remained silent, just walked over, took the last piece of fruit from the plate, and took a hearty bite.
A neat set of teeth marks was left on the fruit.
Pei Yunshu thought that after realizing the Emperor was neither cursed nor sick, he would gain the upper hand. He wanted to see others trembling in fear and secretly marveling at his intelligence. Unexpectedly, the Emperor remained calm. In the room, there was only the sound of the three of them enjoying the fruits, and the Emperor seemed unbothered.
Pei Yunshu took a bite, Zhuyou took a bite, and the Emperor took a bite.
The three of them leaned by the pool and finished a whole basin of fruits. The Emperor glanced at the back of the general outside the door. He elegantly wiped his lips with a wet cuff. Pei Yunshu swung his legs up and down and kindly reminded, “This water has been used for foot soaking.”
The Emperor’s arm stiffened, and he said, “This water is fresh, fool.”
Zhuyou’s icy gaze shifted from behind Pei Yunshu to the Emperor.
Ignoring them, the Emperor got out of the pool. After a change of expression and a pale complexion without hostility, he generously gave Pei Yunshu and Zhuyou a glance. “Aren’t you getting up?”
Pei Yunshu didn’t understand what he meant. Various contents from the book he read flashed through his mind, but since his feet had soaked enough, he stood up to see what the Emperor wanted to do.
Zhuyou beside him said, “Dad, wait a moment.”
Zhuyou got up from the water, put on his shoes and socks, then reached out, lifting Pei Yunshu’s leg and wiping away the water droplets.
As he said, as he grew older, his hands became larger, and now he could easily hold Pei Yunshu’s ankle with one hand.
Pei Yunshu struggled a bit, and Zhuyou raised his eyes, saying, “Dad, don’t move. Master Scholar asked me to take good care of you.”
Pei Yunshu asked, “Master Scholar?”
“Yeah.” Zhuyou casually replied, fully focused on his hands. He felt the warmth and tenderness, like a piece of fine warm jade. His fingers “accidentally” brushed over Pei Yunshu’s instep, causing Pei Yunshu to shake. Suppressing a smile, he said, “Zhuyou, if you want to take care of your dad, you must do it properly. How can you make a mistake?”
After saying that, finding it amusing himself, he playfully tapped Zhuyou’s chest and jokingly kicked him.
“If you don’t do well, Dad will have to punish you.”
Zhuyou felt the place on his chest where he was stepped on was as if touched by fire. His heart was pounding violently. Licking his lips, just as the words “Dad” were about to come out, the Emperor, who had been watching without expression, said, “I don’t want to see your father-son affection.”
It was like a bucket of cold water pouring down, leaving Zhuyou with a chill.
When he came to his senses, Pei Yunshu had already put on his shoes and socks and pulled him up.
Seeing the two of them standing up, the Emperor, without saying a word, laid down on the ground again, weakly calling out, “Changque.”
Zhuyou, who was feeling resentful, smirked, “A barrier is set here, and the Emperor is calling who now?”
The Emperor, without changing his expression, stood up again, walked to the door, and lay down again, kicking the door with his foot. With a pale face, he said, “Chang Que.”
This time, the general outside finally heard it. He hurriedly walked into the room and saw the Emperor, who had already regained his composure.
He knelt down, kneeling on one knee, helping the Emperor up, and relieved, he said, “Your Majesty.”
“Thanks to the two immortals,” the Emperor’s gaze fell on Pei Yunshu, “the immortals are powerful, allowing me a rare moment of clarity. I am deeply grateful.”
As he spoke, tears of gratitude filled the Emperor’s eyes.
“…” Pei Yunshu was dumbfounded.
“Immortal Master,” the weakened Emperor raised his hand, grabbing Pei Yunshu’s hem, looking excited as if he couldn’t repay the favor, “Immortal Master, with such abilities, please expel the demonic evil on my body and save my life completely!”
Pei Yunshu said, “You—”
There was no demonic evil on your body in the first place.
The Emperor suddenly coughed violently, the coughing sounding terrifying. His chest rose and fell continuously, and the scars on his body were even more shocking.
Pei Yunshu closed his mouth in acknowledgment.
The general called someone to check the pulse of the Emperor. Pei Yunshu and Zhuyou waited outside the hall. The general deeply bowed to Pei Yunshu when he came out, expressing his gratitude.
Pei Yunshu avoided it, saying, “There’s no need.”
The general persisted. After finishing the ceremony, he looked up, showing a slightly relieved expression towards Pei Yunshu, and said, “That day, when I was injured, I thought I was bound to die, but unexpectedly, good fortune came from the heavens.”
Pei Yunshu: “Exaggerated praise.”
The general wanted to say something more but met the gaze from Zhuyou. His eyes flashed, “Your son has an extraordinary demeanor. I didn’t expect the Immortal Master, who looks so young, already has such a grown-up son.”
So far, Pei Yunshu had not told the general his name, so the general could only address him as Immortal Master.
A smile appeared at the corner of Pei Yunshu’s mouth, genuinely happy to be praised for his son.
Pei Yunshu and the general exchanged a few more words. A palace servant came out from the room, saying that the Emperor wanted to see the general.
The general entered the palace, and Zhuyou, watching his back, asked, “Dad, what do you think of this general?”
Pei Yunshu thought for a moment and said, “He is a loyal and patriotic man who knows how to repay kindness.”
But Zhuyou saw through it.
This general was clearly a ruthless person, ignorant of gratitude, and would even repay kindness with enmity, showing no mercy.
If it weren’t for his dad who saved him, but rather someone he wasn’t interested in, he would definitely not waste a moment to seek the so-called “lifesaver.”
Searching for his dad for so long, wasting military resources, and even abandoning his subordinates, disregarding their life and death, tirelessly coming to find his dad day and night.
A cunning wolf, disguised as a person with affection and righteousness, shamelessly gaining his dad’s favor.
Zhuyou didn’t plan to directly tell his dad. He wanted his dad to see it with his own eyes.
When his dad was shocked and horrified, it would be the time for him to comfort his dad in his arms.
Then, he would tell his dad that, except for Zhuyou, everyone in the world wore such a hypocritical mask. His dad could only trust Zhuyou and only feel affection for Zhuyou.
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