Ch85 - Captives

The little maid shook her head. “I’m not sure. We servants aren’t by the Shizi’s side, so how could we know about his affairs.”

Xie Zhiwei was interested after seeing her eyes flicker slightly. “Then how did you learn about what you just said?”

The little maid began to stammer. “I heard it from someone.” She picked up the utensils and prepared to leave.

Xie Zhiwei casually picked up a scroll from the bookshelf and said in a careless tone, “Little girl, how long have you known that guard?”

The maid’s steps paused as her eyes widened. “How did zhenren know?”

Xie Zhiwei didn’t look up and pretended to act profound. “Naturally, I divined it.”

It’s so obvious, okay. This bro has lived long enough in the entertainment world to know how to read others. She might not be by the Shizi’s side, but knows about his matters. Mu He might be bent, but the novel world’s logic is still normal. He wouldn’t bring a bunch of female guards to capture people and interrogate them. The girl’s words had also carried a trace of sweet joy when she spoke, she just hadn’t realized it herself.

A girl in love had negative IQ.

Xie Zhiwei said in a sincere, powerful tone, “It’s good to meet someone you fancy, but don’t forget to tell your parents. It’s better to settle these things early.”

The little maid flushed as she hung her head. “What is zhenren talking about…I haven’t yet…”

Xie Zhiwei seemed to suddenly think of something and closed the scroll with a sigh. “I divine fortunes every half month, but was so busy divining your fate that I forgot about my own. What to do now? The second calculation isn’t as accurate.”

“It’s that mysterious?” the maid blinked at him. “Zhenren, what did you want to divine?”

“The people your Shizi captured.”

“So it’s like that…” the maid trailed off.

Xie Zhiwei saw her face relax and seized the chance. “Since that guard treats you sincerely, he’ll definitely tell you something so unimportant, right?”

“But…”

Xie Zhiwei kept urging. “He wouldn’t tell anyone else if they asked, but you’re special. Thus, you’re the only one who can help me.”

After all, this was an inquiry into the Shizi’s affairs, and he was known to be…

The maid looked troubled. “This…”

Xie Zhiwei sighed and continued to look through the scroll in his hands as if giving up. “It’s strange for a Master like me. Although I want to care for my disciple, I can’t exactly open my mouth to ask. Yet it’ll be some time before the relationship between your Shizi and I eases. Forget it, just let it be.”

Mu He didn’t make a fuss when bringing Xie Zhiwei to the estate, but he didn’t forget to instruct the subordinates sealed in this boundary field to take good care of his shizun. All the servants had heard of Xie Zhiwei’s past details and couldn’t very well ask random questions while seeing him alive now. The little maid saw Xie Zhiwei’s conflicted expression and felt that the master-disciple relationship was a little strange.

The Shizi had ordered her to take care of Xie zhenren, but Xie zhenren was so accurate with his divination that she couldn’t help standing on his side. After a pause, she nodded. “So it’s like that. Then I’ll do my best to ask for Xie zhenren’s sake. But if the Shizi asks, don’t say I told you.”

“I’ll be troubling you,” Xie Zhiwei nodded and smiled slightly, not forgetting to keep up his act. “As thanks, I’ll divine your life’s fate after half a month has passed.”

“Thank you, zhenren!” the maid left and Xie Zhiwei rolled up the scroll, tapping it in contemplation. He had planned to find Gallant Outlaw to discuss the plot, but it looked like there were new developments already. It all depended on who Mu He had captured.

Since Mu He had previously released Tantai Meng, he shouldn’t have recaptured her unless she risked death to come save him again.

That was a big possibility.

But it might be Qiu Chongyun as well. What she did was both a huge accident and betrayal. Moreover, she seemed to be hiding some great secret of her own. Mu He would be the last person to spare her.

Wait, that maid said it was two people…were the two of them captured together? Or did one of them find reinforcements? Hm, I’ll wait until I find out the answer before contacting the System.

Xie Zhiwei opened up the scroll again and discovered the words inside looked very familiar. They were penned by Mu He, but identical to his own handwriting, so how could it not be familiar? He placed the scroll on the table and thought, There’s no way, right?

After taking down ink and brush from the bookshelf, he ground some ink and spread open a sheet of paper. After writing a couple of words, his mouth began to twitch. It really was that way. The characters on the finished scroll could’ve been written by his own hand. He hadn’t practiced calligraphy in a while and thought there’d be some minute differences in the handwriting of two people, but that wasn’t the case.

Now it felt like he was copying Mu He’s handwriting instead.

What’s the matter? He copied the handwriting perfectly after the writer was dead. Did he think that would bring me back to life?

Even if I did resurrect, it’s useless. I can’t agree to be a pair with him forever just because he imitated my handwriting flawlessly, right?

Xie Zhiwei lost all interest and prepared to set down the pen when his right hand felt odd, although he couldn’t pinpoint what. Boredom made him sleepy, so his eyes started darting to the bed after sitting around all day. Anyways, it was still early so it’d be a waste not to sleep on something so expensive. He could doze while he waited.

Xie Zhiwei carried on the good habit of napping in his spare time from the entertainment industry and quickly fell asleep after his head hit the pillow. It was very quiet in the courtyard, so he managed to sleep four hours without disturbance. But it was Mu He and not the maid that appeared after he woke.

His hazy eyes opened and saw Mu He’s beautiful, handsome face only a few inches away, giving him complex feelings. Mu He’s smile deepened when he met Xie Zhiwei’seyes. “Has shizun slept well? Disicple couldn’t bear to wake you from such a sweet nap.”

Xie Zhiwei lowered his eyes before raising his head. “…can you get off me first.”

Mu He gave an obedient assent and slowly got off the bed. Xie Zhiwei quickly got up as well, because it was too strange to have a “bed” as a prop for his acting scenes. He smoothed out the wrinkles on his robes while Mu He hung his head, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on his body. Once Xie Zhiwei was all done, he said lightly, “I’ve finally seen shizun’s true self.”

“My true self?” Xie Zhiwei echoed. He moved to sit by the table and coldly picked up a scroll. “Speak, what is my true self like?”

Mu He was stuck. Actually, it was hard for him to describe too. Before being reborn, Xie Zhiwei gave him the impression of a gentle elder. This was still true, but there was more intimacy beyond that gentleness after his rebirth. He had never seen Xie Zhiwei lose his temper, even at Ashen Cloud Sword Sect when his master was reprimanding Ming Kong. That was only the attitude of a righteous faction speaking against wicked actions. Yet now he’d yet to see Xie Zhiwei not angry…

Seeing him choked for words, Xie Zhiwei smiled slightly with no degree of warmth on his face. “When I’m wearing daoist robes, speaking with a pleasant expression, and treating you well, that’s my true self. When I’m rude, cold, and treating you badly, that’s the fake, right?”

“That’s not it,” Mu He blurted out and suddenly took a step forward. “It was disciple who misspoke. I don’t care how shizun is, shizun can be whatever he likes. As long as I still call you shizun, disciple wants to experience life and death together forever with shizun.”

“It’s a little early for those words,” Xie Zhiwei shook his head.

“Is enduring four years to get revenge for shizun still not enough?” Mu He’s tone changed as his voice trembled. “Actually, if it wasn’t for that accidental reunion with shizun, I’m afraid this disciple would be lying in the coffin outside Summit City by now…”

Xie Zhiwei rested a hand against his forehead. While wearing Chi Yan’s mask, he had witnessed Mu He losing his mind front of his coffin. Back then he only thought the hero was a weirdo who lacked ambition. But hearing Mu He describe such a miserable outcome made his own heart anxious. He didn’t do anything, ah. Why did he lead the hero so far off-course? Mu He didn’t even think his own life was important anymore. How was he supposed to battle the sea of stars now?

Xie Zhiwei was troubled as he spoke. “Don’t speak nonsense, you…you’re still young.”

Mu He looked at him fixedly as tears shone in his eyes. “Disciple isn’t speaking nonsense. Shizun said it yourself: ‘a master for a day means a master for a lifetime.’ Does shizun still remember?”

Xie Zhiwei rested a hand against his forehead again. If he knew the hero would remember every one of his lines so thoroughly and start liking him until he curved crooked, then he would’ve chosen to be a mute.

He replied, “But I didn’t know you had those kinds of feelings. Where have you ever seen a disciple, treating their shizun like…” He coughed lightly, unable to finish the sentence.

Mu He replied, “So shizun was worried about that. Then, disciple will go tomorrow and ask youngest martial uncle’s disciples if any of them feel that way about him. How about letting youngest martial uncle and shizun match?”

Xie Zhiwei almost ripped the scroll in his hands as black lines went down his face. “That’s not what I meant…”

“Then shizun means to say…sect leader martial uncle?”

“Be quiet!” Xie Zhiwei lost it and slammed the table. “If you dare do something so ridiculous, I…I…” …I can’t do anything to you. Where am I supposed to find some sense in this world?

Does this damned old gay thinks everyone else is as happy to bend as him? Chu Zhishi is so tall, he’s better off topping other people. Yan Zhifei is so stereotypically stern that just imagining him flirting with others without a smile is incongruous!

“Shizun, don’t be angry, your health is important,” Mu He saw that Xie Zhiwei was actually mad and hastened over, ready to massage his shoulders and back like the old days.

Xie Zhiwei avoided him briskly. “Go, I have nothing to say to you.” If this kept on, his three views would be crushed to dust. He had to find a way to escape quickly.

Mu He stilled, his hands still hanging in mid-air. “But shizun, I wanted to tell you. Today I caught —”

“Get out, I don’t want to know.”

The entire room fell silent as Mu He left. Three seconds later, someone knocked on the door.

Xie Zhiwei furrowed his brows. “Didn’t I tell you to leave?”

“Xie zhenren, it’s me.”

It was the little maid’s voice.

“Come in,” Xie Zhiwei said immediately. The maid shut the doors before he asked, “Did you manage to ask? Who did your Shizi capture?”

—

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Translator’s Note: First Cucumber-bro, now Chu Zhishi and Yan Zhifei…the Chinese comments section is getting out of control hahahaha