ATFBETIBM Chapter 351.2

When his wife approached, County Magistrate Lin snorted, “You still know how to come back.”

His voice had just fallen, and the woman in front of him burst into tears. “Master.”

County Magistrate Lin panicked, “What, what happened? What’s the matter, speak slowly!”

“After I went back, my father suddenly fell seriously ill, almost passing away. I’ve been taking care of my father by his bedside these days. I called doctor after doctors but they say there’s no cure for his illness and I need to prepare for his funeral.”

“Is there really such a thing?” Country Magistrate Lin was surprised. “Why didn’t you inform me of such an important matter?”

“We encountered this matter right after our wedding, and I was afraid it would disturb the feng shui of the Lin residence, so I didn’t tell you. Fortunately, when it was critical, my father suddenly coughed up purulent blood, likely expelling all the stagnated blood. When I saw that my father had recovered, I quickly rushed back.”

County Magistrate Lin: “Oh, it must be because the heavens appreciate your filial piety and couldn’t bear to see you separated from your father. It’s good that you’re back, really good.”

His wife, who had been away at her parents’ home for several days, suddenly returned. Country Magistrate Lin had no intention of going to the yamen, and he hastily instructed the servants to make an excuse for his delay, and then walked into the courtyard with his wife.

As they walked, Country Magistrate Lin scrutinized his wife, “You’ve lost weight, and there are dark circles under your eyes. You must not have been sleeping well.”

Bai Lixin borrowed the donkey and rode it down the slope, “Ah, with my father seriously ill, how could I find sleep? By the way, has my brother been of help at the yamen?”

Not mentioning the brother irritated Country Magistrate Lin, and just mentioning him made Country Magistrate Lin’s anger rise. “Don’t mention it. Your brother is driving me to my death.”

Country Magistrate Lin proceeded to tell his wife everything that had happened in the past few days. After listening, the wife exclaimed, “Master, how could you drive away my brother? He was helping you! Don’t you know you were almost at death’s door!”

Country Magistrate Lin asked, “What do you mean?”

Bai Lixin: “We have distant relatives in the capital. You only know he’s a prince from the capital, the Emperor’s brother, but you don’t know why he came to Qingcheng Town.”

Bai Lixin suddenly lowered his voice, and said mysteriously, “He was once involved in a rebellion!”

Country Magistrate Lin’s eyes widened.

Bai Lixin continued, “The Emperor is benevolent, and spared his life instead of executing him, but exiled him to this remote place. However, their family showed no remorse and committed such brutal crimes. The Emperor often says, a prince breaking the law is the same as a commoner, especially one who conspired against the throne.”

“He had rebelled before, and even if the Emperor didn’t kill him, he had long been regarded as a thorn in the Emperor’s side. Yet, you want to shelter such a person. When this matter is exposed, I wonder what will happen to your official hat!”

Country Magistrate Lin stumbled and asked, “Is every word you said true?”

Bai Lixin: “If you don’t believe it, you can send someone to inquire in the capital, see if what I said is true or false.”

“Ah!” Country Magistrate Lin suddenly stamped his foot. “That’s it. What should I do? I drove brother in law away from the yamen. Now, if I try to invite him back, will it be of any use?”

“Ah, it’s useless. Master, you’re unaware, my brother has always been proud. Once driven away, he won’t come back. Forget it, I’ll talk to my brother privately about this matter. You don’t need to worry.”

As they chatted, they passed by the rear garden and happened to see Yi Niang Qian and her close servant, Xiaodie, sitting by the lake, seemingly fishing for something.

When they heard the sound, they turned back. Yi Niang Qian was the first to be stunned.

She didn’t expect Bai Lixin to return.

It has been a few days of peace.

“You really don’t know who you are. Isn’t this the Madam?” Yi Niang Qian said mockingly. “You finally know to come back. If this matter spreads to outsiders, they might think we mistreated our new bride, that I drove you away. I can’t bear that accusation.”

Bai Lixin responded coldly, “The accusation is yours. Even if you remove it, it won’t change. If the accusation isn’t yours, even if you apply it, it won’t stick. Big Sister, rest assured, I didn’t say a word about this matter after I returned. If outsiders know about it, it certainly won’t be because of me.”

It had been a while since he had a showdown with this Yi Niang. He surprisingly missed it a bit.

Yi Niang Qian glared at Bai Lixin.

Seeing the sparks fly, Country Magistrate Lin wisely didn’t intervene. He took a step back. “I remember, I have to go to the yamen. Madam, I’m leaving now. I won’t be back for lunch.”

Halfway through, he suddenly stopped, “Oh, right, I’ll have lunch at the yamen. You don’t need to send me food. Recently, a special envoy arrived at the yamen so you should pay attention, I’m off.”

The smart Country Magistrate Lin left when he needed to.

Bai Lixin stood on the promenade, he and Yi Niang Qian by the lake looked at each. Then, Bai Lixin turned and left.

Just as he took a couple of steps, Yi Niang Qian’s words stopped him. “Oh, Madam, is Master Song alright?”

Bai Lixin abruptly stopped, and looked at Yi Niang Qian with cold eyes. “How do you know something happened to my father?”

Yi Niang Qian was not afraid of Bai Lixin, and said, “Your father? What kind of father do you have? Who knows where you popped up from, claiming to be Master Song’s daughter. I advise you, leave before I expose your Identity. Otherwise, when I do, you might not be able to leave unscathed.”

Bai Lixin stared at Yi Niang Qian expressionlessly. “I was brought home by Master, carried in a grand sedan. Where can I go? You’re saying I’m not the daughter of the Song family. Are you suggesting that Master married the wrong person? If you make such a claim to Master, with his current fondness for me, do you think he would resent you or me?”

Yi Niang Qian was furious. She pointed at Bai Lixin with her finger but was unable to say anything. In the end, she stomped her foot angrily.

Bai Lixin returned to his room. He had just closed the door when a force suddenly pressed him against the wall.

His eyes went widen, only to meet a pair of pitch-black ones.

Looking at Dijia, who somehow entered the r Bai Lixin asked in a hushed tone, “Why are you here?”

Dijia: “Since you’re here, where else can I go?”

As he spoke, his shoulders drooped slightly and he rested his chin on Bai Lixin’s shoulder, sniffing the fresh scent on Bai Lixin’s neck. “I’ve wanted to try sneaking around for a long time, but I never had the chance.”

The man’s rough-textured fingertips landed on Bai Lixin’s chin, lightly pinching it. In a low voice, he said, “Open your mouth.”

Bai Lixin’s eyes flickered, and the next second, he obediently opened his mouth.

When the emotions had reached their peak, Dijia covered Bai Lixin’s mouth. “You have to keep your voice down, that Yi Niang’s people have been monitoring you.”

The man suddenly stopped, looking towards the direction of the door. He reluctantly withdrew his hand, “Someone’s coming, we’ll continue next time. I’ll leave now.”

With that, the man took a step back, and in the next moment, his body melded into the wall naturally, and disappeared.

Bai Lixin: “…”

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

‘I knew it! This bastard’s sudden cooperation surely meant trouble.’

He wondered, when did Dijia become so reasonable, he was just waiting for him here.

This bastard with a brain only in the lower half of his body!

Just as he finished cursing, there was a knock on the door, “Madam, are you in?”

Bai Lixin quickly straightened his clothes and opened the door, finding Xiaodie standing there.

The moment the door opened, Xiaodie glanced inside suspiciously, as if searching for something.

Bai Lixin blocked her way, “What do you want with me?”

The room might be small, but there were plenty of places to hide.

Xiaodie simply glanced around, and didn’t see anyone. She then handed over something, “This is from Yi Niang, she apologizes and hopes you like the pastries. Yi Niang is used to being capricious, she speaks without thinking but she means well.”

“Just now, right after the argument, she asked me to bring these pastries to you, hoping you’d like them.”

After saying that, Xiaodie started looking inside again.

“Why, do you suspect I’m hiding someone inside? If I recall correctly, I just arrived here less than a stick of incense ago, all by myself.”

Xiaodie hurriedly said, “No, no, I didn’t mean that. I just wanted to check if there’s any dust so the servants can come and clean up.”

“I don’t want pastries. Go back and tell your miss to send me less food. What if something happens to me one day? She won’t escape the consequences.” After saying this, Bai Lixin directly closed the door.

Xiaodie stood at the door for a moment, then left with the items.

After walking for a while, she reached the side of Yi Niang Qian hiding behind the wall.

Yi Niang Qian: “How is it? Did you find anything?”

Xiaodie shook her head, “No, she didn’t let me in, and there was no one when I looked.”

“Impossible,” Yi Niang Qian frowned, “I clearly heard a man’s voice.”

Xiaodie: “But didn’t she just return? How could there be a man in the room?”

Yi Niang Qian: “Well, it might not be a man, it could be a male goblin, right?”

Xiaodie and Auntie exchanged glances, and Yi Niang Qian continued, “Let’s go. A monk can run away but he can’t run away from the temple. I don’t believe we can’t catch her in the act.”

* “A monk can run away but he can’t run away from the temple” is just an idiom.

Once Xiaodie and Yi Niang Qian were far away, Bai Lixin finally retracted his ears.

Dijia, who had hidden, emerged from the rippling wall. He waved towards the door, instantly casting a barrier.

“That Yi Niang and Xiaodie aren’t ordinary people,” Dijia leisurely sat down at the table.

“I can tell,” Bai Lixin also sat down, “but I can’t figure out exactly what they are. Are they human? Ghosts? Or something like that?”

Dijia: “How about you beg me, and if you do, I’ll tell you what they are?”

Bai Lixin: “…”

I’m giving you face, and you still act haughty?

When there was no response, Dijia continued, “They are related to the things on Master Song’s body. Do you want to go to Qingcheng Mountain again?”

“Heh,” Bai Lixin rolled his eyes, “What if, I came to the temple to find you yesterday, to explore Qingcheng Mountain at night with you? Who knew that as soon as I entered, I would hear such explosive sounds.”

“Speaking of which, aren’t you curious about what ‘I’ was doing at night when I called out your name?” Dijia cupped his chin, looking at the young man lazily, “Let me tell you, ‘I’ hid your clothes, and every night, I hold them while imagining it’s you, embracing you into my dreams. Tsk tsk tsk, ‘I’ used to appear decent, but my thoughts were quite dirty. Now, ‘I’ directly express the filthiness, leaving no room for misunderstanding.”

Bai Lixin: “???”

‘Is this guy so ruthless that he even curses himself?

If he likes cursing so much, should I curse a bit too?’

—————————–

In the live broadcast room

[Spread the word, the big boss became so ruthless he even curses himself.]

[Ever since the big boss ate meat, he immediately became free of all taboos. Not only does he flirt, but he also starts playing secretive games. Fuck, did he go from one extreme to another?]

[From this incident, I’ve drawn a conclusion.]

[What conclusion?]

[Once you feel the urge, you must quickly release it, don’t hold it in, or you might really develop problems. Damaging your health is one thing, but delaying could lead to turning dark.]

[Seize the moment.]

[Big boss: So, are you blaming me for being late?]

[Pfft. Help, the car is going too fast, let me off!]

[Lock the door, let’s go!]

———————————-

“Let’s go.”

Seeing Dijia stand up, Bai Lixin hesitated for two seconds before standing up and asking, “Go to Qingcheng Mountain?”

Dijia: “Yes, I have teleportation, we can go directly.”

As he said this, he waved his hand, and ripples appeared on the wall.

Bai Lixin: “Won’t someone come in?”

Dijia: “I just set up a barrier outside, if someone enters, I’ll sense it immediately, and we’ll come back right away.”

Bai Lixin was in a daze as he walked to the wall. “You had such a good skill, why didn’t you let me use it before?”

DIJIA: “Uh, before… wasn’t I always in the process of self-cultivation? How could I have time to help you?”

Bai Lixin: “…”

‘Is that your reason for not helping your wife?!’

Following behind Dijia, Bai Lixin stepped into the wall.

In a blink of an eye, when his vision returned to normal, he was already on Qingcheng Mountain.

Not far away was the dilapidated house he saw yesterday.

The two glanced at each other and quickly walked towards the house.

As soon as they came closer, just like yesterday, a chilly wind blew out.

The wind moved along Bai Lixin’s neck, rushed into his clothes, and enveloped him in a sudden coolness.

After a physiological shiver, Bai Lixin and Dijia walked into the yard.

Although this house was already abandoned, it was quite large.

Everywhere was in ruins, but there were no weeds in the yard.

Only in the dark and damp corners were a few thriving clusters of red spider lilies.

It was strange that the bright red spider lilies had taken root here, and they looked out of place in this desolate house.

The yard was spacious, and there were many rooms.

Bai Lixin stood in the middle of the yard and looked up at the sky.

It was late morning, when the sun was at its brightest, but perhaps it was his illusion or not, the yard seemed noticeably darker.

He surveyed the surroundings and eventually pointed to the large room closest to him, “Let’s go in here and take a look.”

Dijia followed along.

This room was so desolate that it was almost impossible to see the original function of the room.

However, from the dilapidated chairs, Bai Lixin could tell it was probably the main hall.

For some unknown reason in the past, the owner of the house hadn’t moved much furniture, but due to time, the furniture had suffered varying degrees of damage.

Bai Lixin walked to the dilapidated table and chairs and looked down. On the ground and door pillars polished by the passage of time, there were some ash-brown marks.

As he got closer, he realized that they should be bloodstains, bloodstains that had been experienced a long passage of time.