‘Predestined fate…’
‘Obey and give it a try…’
‘It wouldn’t hurt…’
Hearing Qi Changying’s words one after another, Su Li couldn’t help letting out a cold laugh.
‘…Fine.’
‘Very good.’
So much for saying he would wait for someone he truly liked. So much for saying he would get to know someone slowly and make sure of his feelings before discussing marriage…
It turned out that once Zhuge Qiyu came into the picture, he forgot all of it.
A trace of warmth spread across his palm, accompanied by waves of stinging pain.
Only then did Su Li remember to lower his head and look. He discovered that he had somehow dug his nails into his palm hard enough to draw blood.
Blood trickled across his palm, its redness glaring and bright.
“Enough, Ah Rong. Let’s pretend we don’t know about this matter. Don’t bring it up again. We’ll talk about everything after we return to the capital.”
“…All right. Sigh, anyway, I only heard the news and wanted to let you know. Since you already have an idea of what to do, I don’t have anything else to say. All right, I’ll go back and catch up on some sleep. You should get some more rest too. We still have a long journey ahead of us this afternoon.”
“Okay.”
Outside the tent, Shen Huarong left. Not long afterward, Qi Changying lifted the curtain and walked inside.
When he looked up and saw someone still standing inside, he was slightly taken aback.
“…Ah Li?”
He hadn’t expected Su Li to appear here at this hour.
“Don’t you usually sleep until the sun is high in the sky? Why are you here so early today? Is something the matter?”
“…”
Su Li didn’t speak. He simply stood where he was, glaring coldly at him.
For some reason, Qi Changying sensed a hint of danger in his gaze.
Although this child was usually fierce and aggressive, that was more like a habit of his. He was accustomed to putting on a hard, prickly front to keep people at a distance.
But this time was different.
Qi Changying could feel that Su Li was genuinely furious.
At this moment, Su Li gave him the same feeling as during the night raid at Chifeng Pass, when he stood atop the tower and claimed tens of thousands of souls with a flick of his fingers.
“What happened…?” His gaze quickly dropped, and Qi Changying noticed the blood on Su Li’s hand.
He went over, intending to support his arm, but Su Li forcefully shook him off.
Su Li looked at him and curled his lips into a cold smile.
“You’re going to marry Zhuge Qiyu?”
Qi Changying froze.
Only then did he remember that he and Shen Huarong were speaking not far from the tent. Su Li inside must have heard their entire conversation.
“It was only a rumor Ah Rong heard. The news came from the capital, and we’re far away in the northwest. Who knows how much time and how many changes there have been in between? Who knows whether it’s true or false? He was only telling me what he’d heard. We should just let it go in one ear and out the other. We must not spread it around. If other people hear it, it’ll damage the young lady’s name and reputation.”
“Damage her reputation?” Su Li sneered.
“You really are considerate of her.”
“…?”
Su Li’s state of mind was clearly not right.
But Qi Changying didn’t know why.
He could only cautiously try to calm him down.
“What exactly is wrong, Ah Li? You can talk to me if something’s bothering you.”
“Nothing’s wrong! What could possibly be wrong with me?!”
Even Su Li himself didn’t understand where this anger and resentment in his heart came from.
It was such wonderful news. He should have been happy.
“I just heard this wonderful news and came to offer my congratulations to the commander. What’s wrong with that?!”
Su Li had dug his palm into a bloody mess. Blood fell from it like beads from a broken string, pattering onto the ground.
“That girl from the Zhuge family is wonderful! She’s clever, studious, humble, gentle, obedient, and beautiful. You must like someone like her, right? Someone who speaks softly and considers others in everything she does. With a great sage like you, how suitable, how perfectly matched you would be! Ah, speaking of which, she used to tell me how wonderful you were too. I’m sure she’ll be very pleased with this marriage. Look at that! The emperor casually playing matchmaker on a whim has brought together such a perfect couple.”
“Fine. Wonderful. Congratulations! When the wedding date is set, remember to let me know. I will certainly prepare a grand gift for the commander to celebrate your wedding!”
Qi Changying really didn’t understand why Su Li had suddenly become so furious.
But he knew that when this child was angry, he couldn’t listen to anything. There was no point trying to reason with him, so he could only sigh.
“Your hand is injured. Sit down and let me treat it. We can talk about the other things once you’ve calmed down a little, all right?”
“Whether my hand is injured or broken has nothing to do with you! What is there for us to talk about?!”
Su Li felt a lump of anger lodged in his chest. He desperately wanted to do something, to break something.
It was like an evil fire burning inside him. Not only could it not be extinguished, it was burning more and more fiercely.
He couldn’t stay here any longer.
“I only came to tell you that there’s really nothing interesting in the northwest. Now that the war is over, it’s time for me to leave. From now on, the sky is high and the sea is vast. May we never meet again!”
With that, Su Li turned and walked away.
Qi Changying was still completely bewildered by this outburst. He hurried after Su Li and grabbed his wrist.
“Ah Li, you…”
“Get lost!”
Su Li flung him away. But that wasn’t enough. He clenched his bloodied hand into a fist and slammed it hard into the corner of Qi Changying’s mouth.
No one knew where Su Li got such strength. The blow was so forceful that Qi Changying’s face turned to the side, and he staggered back half a step.
“I’ll kill you…”
Su Li grabbed Qi Changying and shoved him repeatedly, then began punching and kicking him. His movements were completely disorganized, as though he had gone mad. He smeared the blood on his hands all over Qi Changying’s clothes.
Qi Changying was inexplicably subjected to a round of scolding and beating, yet he wasn’t even angry. He simply let Su Li vent his anger until, in the end, Su Li’s hands closed around his neck.
“I’ll kill you… You should die…”
Su Li’s eyes had turned completely red at some point. It was unclear whether this was because he was so furious or for some other reason.
For a moment, he truly wanted to kill the person before him right here and now. He wanted to refine him into a ghost and keep him trapped by his side at all times. What did he care about some girl from the Zhuge family, some duke’s granddaughter or marquis’s legitimate daughter? Even if the emperor himself came, no one should ever dream of taking so much as a single strand of his hair.
But…
But…
Su Li gritted his teeth and looked at the person beneath his hands.
He had already thrown such a huge tantrum. He had already gone this mad. He was even gripping his neck, trying to kill him. Yet Qi Changying still didn’t fight back or get angry. He simply let him make a scene, allowing himself to be hit and scolded, like a ball of cotton that could never be hurt, no matter how it was squeezed, and would never hurt anyone in return.
Even now, Qi Changying was still looking at him quietly, his brows slightly furrowed. That frown wasn’t one of irritation or displeasure. It was…
It was concern.
As though in the next moment, he will say something comforting and caring. He might even ask whether his hand was all right, and whether he’d hurt himself while hitting him.
How ridiculous.
How could there be someone like this in the world?
“…”
Seeing that Su Li seemed to have calmed down a little, Qi Changying tried calling him again.
“Ah Li…”
But before the final sound of the word “Li” had even left his mouth, his voice was abruptly cut off in his throat.
His eyes widened slightly, and his pupils trembled for an instant.
Because the person who, just a moment ago, had been fiercely saying he would kill him and wanted him dead, suddenly threw his arms around him and hugged him tightly.
“Go die…”
Su Li buried his face in the crook of Qi Changying’s neck. His voice had also become muffled.
He gripped the fabric on Qi Changying’s shoulders tightly and hugged him hard, as though he wanted to merge his entire body into his own bones.
He seemed to be using all the strength in his body, squeezing Qi Changying so tightly that he could barely breathe. But even that wasn’t enough for him, so he opened his mouth and bit down hard on the side of Qi Changying’s neck.
This bite was really fierce. Qi Changying drew in a sharp breath from the pain, but he still didn’t struggle.
Su Li bit him fiercely.
A faint smell of blood spread between his lips and teeth, gradually growing stronger.
“I hate you, Qi Changying…”
He hated him so much that he wanted to bite a piece of flesh off his body and swallow it.
He hated him so much that he wanted to kill him, refine him into a ghost, and torment him for all eternity.
Hate…
“…I hate you so much.”
The warm blood filled his mouth. It should have tasted salty, with the flavor of rust, but for some reason, Su Li tasted a hint of bitterness.
At last, he released Qi Changying, pushed him away, turned around, and quickly walked off without looking back at him.
Qi Changying remained where he was. He subconsciously raised a hand and touched the spot Su Li had bitten.
At his touch, the wound stung sharply, and bright red blood came away.
“My heavens! There aren’t even any dogs in this camp, so who bit your neck? How did they manage to leave such a nasty bite mark?”
Shen Huarong had no idea what had happened. He returned to his tent to catch up on a little sleep. When he woke up again, he heard that the camp was in an uproar because Lord Qiyueban had ridden off on horseback. He also saw Shoumo running around in circles, anxiously searching for his master. So he came to find Qi Changying to ask what exactly was going on. Before he could even open his mouth, he noticed the deep ring of teeth marks around Qi Changying’s neck, which looked quite horrifying.
The world had turned upside down during his nap.
Qi Changying had everyone unrelated to the matter leave. Only after he and Shen Huarong were left in the tent did he say:
“It was Ah Li.”
“Ah Li?! Why would he bite you for no reason?!”
Shen Huarong waved his fan rapidly.
“Could it be that he ran away because he was fleeing after committing a crime? That doesn’t make sense. You wouldn’t hold him accountable, and he’s not the sort of person who would run away.”
Qi Changying didn’t respond to Shen Huarong’s question. Instead, he asked:
“…What about him? Have they found him?”
“No. Who would dare chase after him?”
Qi Changying thought for a moment, then nodded.
“He probably won’t come back. He never wanted to return to the capital in the first place. This means he has gone for good.”
“Then…” Shen Huarong stumbled over his words, still unable to understand how any of this was connected.
“Then let him go if he wants to. But why did he bite you before leaving? And why did he bite you there? He’s practically disfigured you!”
“It’s nothing.”
Qi Changying wrapped the wound in gauze as he explained:
“I don’t know what came over that child. He got really angry. I couldn’t persuade him, and after beating and scolding me, he said he was leaving. I couldn’t even find out what had made him so angry.”
“Tsk…” Shen Huarong still couldn’t quite make sense of it.
“This is really strange. It’s true that he used to get angry easily, but at most he’d curse at people. He’d never laid a hand on anyone, much less used his teeth… Did you provoke him? What did you do?”
“How could I have provoked him? I don’t know either.”
Actually, Qi Changying had already spent a long time reflecting on it before Shen Huarong arrived, but even now he hadn’t come up with an answer. He could only recount everything to Shen Huarong from beginning to end.
“When you and I were discussing His Majesty’s marriage arrangement, Ah Li was inside my tent and heard everything. He found out that His Majesty might arrange a marriage between me and Miss Zhuge. After that, he congratulated me for a while, then got angry again, and then…”
“…Oh!” Shen Huarong suddenly let out a strange cry, interrupting Qi Changying.
“Oh! Oh! Oh!”
“What…”
“Wait! Don’t say anything. Let me think this through properly…”
Shen Huarong felt that everything had suddenly become chaotic, and the air had somehow grown hot and restless. He quickly drank some cold tea, fanned himself, held his forehead, and caught his breath before recovering.
He tried to sort out the cause and effect.
“You mean Ah Li heard that you were going to be betrothed, and that the person was Zhuge Qiyu, then went mad with anger? He beat and scolded you, bit you in the end, and then ran off by himself?”
“Mm.” Qi Changying nodded.
“…My dear Ah Ying, have you gone stupid from fighting wars?! You still don’t understand why he got so angry? He’s obviously jealous!”
Shen Huarong really wanted to grab his shoulders and shake some sense into him.
“You blockhead, why can’t you figure it out?!”
“Jealous…?” Qi Changying seemed somewhat unfamiliar with the word.
“That’s right!”
With a sharp swish, Shen Huarong snapped his fan shut and smacked it hard against his palm.
“Zhuge Suli likes Zhuge Qiyu! You fool, you’ve stepped right onto the blade’s edge! No wonder he hates you so much! You’ve stolen the person he loves. With his temperament, it’s already a blessing that he didn’t bite you to death!”
So that was it?
But…
“…” Qi Changying recalled Su Li’s behavior in light of what Shen Huarong said.
“Something about that doesn’t seem quite right. That child doesn’t understand romantic feelings. How old was he when he first met Miss Zhuge? Even if he grew up later and eventually understood his feelings… He comes and goes like the wind and has never followed the rules. If he truly had someone he loved, how could he endure being separated from her by such a great distance for so long? How could he willingly stay in this northwestern camp and suffer through the fierce winds and dust? How could he wait until marriage was being discussed before finally losing his temper? You’ve got it wrong.”
“…You have a point.” Shen Huarong calmed down and nodded.
“With that child’s temperament, if he truly liked someone, he would definitely want to keep that person by his side every moment, tightly gripping them in his hands, just as he treats his cat. Everything would have to go his way. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch them, nor would he allow…”
As he spoke, Shen Huarong suddenly stopped, as though something occurred to him.
He stiffly turned his neck, little by little, and stared fixedly at Qi Changying.
It was as though he had met him for the first time in his life. He looked him up and down, then from his feet to his head again. Finally, he drew in a deep breath.
“Hiss…”
“?” Qi Changying felt a little uneasy under Shen Huarong’s gaze.
Following Shen Huarong’s line of sight, he also lowered his head to look at himself.
“What is it?”
Shen Huarong moved his lips. After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.
“Ah Ying, I was wrong…”
“…?”
Shen Huarong’s expression suddenly became extremely complicated and difficult to describe. There even seemed to be the slightest hint of pity in it.
“…Do you think… Ah Li might like… um, is it possible… that the person he likes is you?”
“…Me?”
Qi Changying was confused again.
“Have you gone muddle-headed from sleeping? How could he possibly like me?”
“Don’t you think it’s strange?” Shen Huarong seemed to have suddenly become enlightened. Looking back now, he realized that the clues had been there all along.
“Someone as arrogant, unrestrained, and self-willed as him, someone who looks down on everyone and doesn’t even take His Majesty seriously, who could order him around? Then why did he come to the northwest when His Majesty ordered him to accompany the army? And why did he stay for so many years after coming here, never once thinking of leaving?
“Think about it again. He looks down on everyone and doesn’t listen to what anyone says. But he listens to you alone, right?
“And that time when you were trapped in the mountains after being schemed against by that general from Chaosu, I hadn’t even received your message for reinforcements when he rushed in front of me and said you were in danger and we had to hurry and rescue you. At the time, he didn’t say anything, but he was actually so anxious he could barely contain himself. He calculated and divined your location, then personally rode out with men to support you… And another time, when you were seriously injured, he silently stood guard beside you for most of the night. I brought you medicine, and he even scolded me because it had gotten a little cold…”
“…It all fits together now. It all fits together… What did you say this morning? You said you didn’t have anyone you liked, so if His Majesty arranged a marriage, you might as well try it. You even said there was nothing wrong with trying marriage first and love later… He likes you and considers you his. Of course he couldn’t stand hearing you say that. No wonder he beat you up! But why didn’t that child say anything…?”
Shen Huarong rattled off this long string of words, but Qi Changying still hadn’t quite reacted.
“Wait.” He was still somewhat bewildered.
“You mean Ah Li likes me? Likes me in that romantic sense?”
“That’s right! You still don’t understand?!”
“But…”
“But you’re a man, and he’s a man too, right? Oh, I’m telling you, you’ve gone stupid from reading military books! You don’t know that in the households of various princes, nobles, and wealthy families in the capital, those gentlemen and young masters who like to indulge themselves all keep male concubines. In the previous dynasty, there was even something called Nanfeng Houses. It’s just that we don’t encourage this nowadays and don’t allow it to be openly displayed… Um, do you know what a Nanfeng House is? It’s also a brothel, except the people serving customers inside aren’t women. They’re male prostitutes! Sigh, although this isn’t anything particularly unusual, I’ve never seen or heard of it with my own eyes, so it never occurred to me to think in that direction. Who would have thought…”
Shen Huarong had uncovered a huge secret and was so excited. The more he thought about it, the more enthusiastic he became.
“Still, I’m a little surprised that Ah Li ran away. I thought that, given his temperament, if he really liked you, he’d probably kidnap you and lock you up so you’d belong to him alone. Tsk. Thinking about it this way, it’s good that he ran away. The farther away, the better. I may sound harsh, but being liked by Ah Li isn’t exactly a good thing. It could even be called a calamity. Just look at those bite marks on your neck…”
“Ah Rong.” Qi Changying, who still felt as though he were in a fog, finally came back to his senses when he heard this.
“Don’t say that.”
“All right, all right, I won’t say it. Sigh… With the way you protect him and tolerate his temperament at every turn, it would be strange if he didn’t set his sights on you.” Shen Huarong sighed and shook his head.
“So what do we do now? He’s run off, and we’re about to set out for the capital too. Are you going to look for him? And what will you do if you find him? Lay everything out and make it clear to him? Have a proper talk about this matter? I’m afraid he’ll go even crazier.”
“…” After remaining silent for a long time, Qi Changying finally shook his head.
“We already said goodbye and agreed to go our separate ways. He’s eighteen now, no longer a child. If he wants to leave, he must have his own plans. Everything you just said is only speculation. It can’t be taken as fact. Once we leave this tent, let’s pretend none of this happened. Don’t tell a third person, and don’t use this matter to tease him again.”
“I know, I know…” Seeing how serious Qi Changying was, Shen Huarong no longer felt like joking about it.
He composed himself and asked:
“Then what now…?”
Qi Changying sighed softly.
“Let’s set out.”
He stood up and put on his outer robe.
“Let’s head for the capital.”
