In the past, Cuizhu Garden was extremely quiet and lifeless. Today, there were some occasional coughs, which made it a little more lively.
Lu Shenxing, who was lying on the couch, swallowed his saliva to relieve his painful throat. He grabbed his damp hair, changed his posture, and squinted to see Shen Cheng standing in front of the window with his back facing him.
"222, I want to see Shen Cheng's world."
At Lu Shenxing's request, a barren world was laid out before his eyes, without a trace of emotion.
"Don't tell me, the task progress is still 0."
After a notification from the system, the barren land was amplified. Among a pile of rocks, Lu Shenxing saw a small tuft of grass, and he wouldn't find it if he didn't look closely.
The grass was thin, it should have just sprouted, but it was better than nothing. Lu Shenxing comforted himself, he hadn't stepped into a pit yet.
"Ding, Mr. Lu, a second ago, you triggered a H-level mission."
Lu Shenxing sneered in his heart, "Why didn't I know?"
The system seems to have blocked Lu Shenxing's negative emotions, "Ding, Mr. Lu please get three compliments from the target within ten minutes."
Lu Shenxing's expression turned ugly. If the system was in front of him, he would dismantle its parts one by one and smash them with a big hammer.
He jumped down and walked over, pretending to be casual, "Baozhu, what do you think of me?"
Shen Cheng turned around, his sharp gaze flicked, and he stared for a moment, stabilising his emotions, "Noisy, teasing, likes sweets, you say everything you are thinking."
Lu Shenxing's eyes twitched, xiongdi, you said so much, am I that interesting?
"Baozhu, can you praise me?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Cheng cast him a weird look.
At this time, Lu Shenxing, who had thicker skin than the wall, was actually a little embarrassed, but fortunately, Shen Cheng swiftly moved on.
Shen Cheng's narrow lips opened slightly, "Very good."
Lu Shenxing smiled, "Anything else?"
Shen Cheng nodded, "Very good."
Lu Shenxing was speechless, "...is that it?"
Shen Cheng frowned and seemed to be struggling. In his opinion, very good is very good, there wasn't any other alternative.
His time was up, the mission failed, and the dark-faced Lu Shenxing received the randomly assigned punishment. He went out to find Sangu and asked for a job picking vegetables and shovelling manure.
The honest middle-aged worker stood embarrassed at the end of the vegetable field, "Shiyi, this is my job, let me do it myself."
"Da Shu, I have to do this." Lu Shenxing smiled without smiling, his nose was stuffed with two balls of cotton, and his voice buzzed, "In order to make the world a beautiful place."
The child laughed so dryly, the middle-aged man rubbed his arms and asked curiously, "Were you scolded by Baozhu?"
Lu Shenxing didn't answer. He picked up a big bit of dung that was disproportionate to his height and shoveled it around, humming "As long as everyone gives a little love."
Middle-aged worker was 80% sure he must have brain problems.
Shen Cheng knew about Lu Shenxing shoveling manure in the vegetable field. He shut himself in his study, and half an hour later, several books were piled on the table.
His index finger pressed the center of his eyebrows, and Shen Cheng leaned against the back of the chair, "Call Liu Huo."
A servant in the shadows replied, "Yes."
Liu Huo arrived quickly. Hearing Shen Cheng's question, he uttered an ah with a weird expression, "Baozhu, you are asking this subordinate, how to praise someone?"
Shen Cheng didn't say a word, presumably defaulting.
"This is simple. Some like, you are very cute,or you look so good when you smile." Liu Huo smiled, "The content is secondary, so long as you are sincere."
Shen Cheng waved him away and Liu Huo left with some doubts, meeting with Wei Yang along the way.
"It's Shiyi."
Wei Yang's straightforward statement shocked Liu Huo's heart, but he also felt it was expected. He hummed, "Why are you so sure?"
Wei Yang flicked her hair, "Woman's intuition."
Liu Huo blurted out subconsciously, "Why didn't I know?"
Wei Yang coldly said, "Are you also a woman?"
Liu Huo twisted his waist and Wei Yang immediately used her qinggong to leave and find a place to vomit.
In the evening, Lu Shenxing came back smelling terrible.
Sangu, who was waiting there, asked, "Did Baozhu say something?"
Lu Shenxing snorted, "He said I'm good."
Like father, like son. He didn't notice the indescribable expression on Sangu's face.
"Shiyi, Sangu's eyes are not good, can you help me pick some pusang fruit."
"I'll do it tomorrow."
Lu Shenxing walked away quickly without waiting for Sangu to respond. He washed his clothes hastily and changed into a clean set before tidying the bedroom, putting things away one by one, and wiping them clean with a cloth.
There was a sudden movement behind him, and Lu Shenxing, who was wandering around, was startled. He dropped the cloth and cursed.
Shen Cheng bowed his head, "What's wrong?"
A cold breath sprayed on his forehead, and Lu Shenxing frowned, and the familiar feeling appeared again.
Impossible, he immediately denied the guess that suddenly manifested, it was ridiculous.
In order to break the delicate atmosphere, Lu Shenxing casually pointed, "Baozhu, this is really beautiful."
Shen Cheng glanced at the little clay figure, picked it up in silence and touched it.
While changing Shen Cheng's clothes, Lu Shenxing stood on tiptoes again, probably because he'd been standing for the whole afternoon, he was a little bit weak. He couldn't stand firmly, and his lips inadvertently brushed Shen Cheng's face.
He took the worn clothes and left without issue, the frequency of his heartbeat was disturbed by the night wind, beating an unusual rhythm.
Shen Cheng remained there in a daze. He reached out his hand to touch his face, and something flashed in his mind but he couldn't catch it.
That night, Lu Shenxing still suffered from insomnia, his mind was in a mess, sometimes seeing Xin Liang's face for a while, then sometimes Shen Cheng's, changing back and forth, and unexpectedly overlapping.
He opened his eyes in horror, as if suffering from schizophrenia, and went out with two dark circles under his eyes the next day.
Pusang fruit grew on the edge of a mountain cliff. It looked red and delicious, but it was actually sour and hard to swallow.
Throwing the picked ones into the bamboo basket, Lu Shenxing suddenly noticed something was off, but before he could react, a force pushed him off the mountain.
At noon, Baozhu returned with a bloody man in his arms, and the evil aura that surrounded his body sent the people of Youlong Castle into a panic.
Liu Huo, Wei Yang, and several other hall masters were anxious, no one wanted a repeat of that rainy night, when the rain was bright red.
They asked impatiently, "Shiyi won't die, right?"
Liu Huo scolded, "Shut up!
Wei Yang crossed her arms, "I'm afraid if he doesn't live, neither will we."
"How could Baozhu like that kid so much?" Some were calm, pointing out the unknown.
"You'd have to ask Baozhu."
The hall masters fell silent, they knew that if a child who didn't even have the power to bind a chicken fell from Santou Mountain, even if the genius doctor Fang Hu was alive, he wouldn't be able to bring him back from the dead.
The lingering cold air enveloped all of Cuizhu Garden.
Watching the child whose breath was sometimes absent, Shen Cheng said nothing.
"Cen Yingu is in an extremely cold place, where Manyi Flower blooms all year round. As long as he is taken there, there is a glimmer of hope, but the journey is far away, and it will take half a month at the earliest." Huo Bo groaned, "Before that, someone with strong internal strength will need to protect his heart."
In this world, no one could compare to the man in front of him in terms of internal strength.
Shen Cheng picked up Lu Shenxing and walked into a hidden room.
Huo Bo reminded him, "Baozhu must think clearly, if you are a little careless while using your internal force, you will not be able to protect yourself."
Shen Cheng kept walking. The moment the door closed, Huo Bo heard a voice, "If there is no him, it will be so boring."
That night, Sangu sat in the small courtyard, like a prisoner waiting to be sentenced. There was a sense of relief and fear of death.
It was late at night, and the frigid air permeated every corner of the courtyard, Sangu shivered, and suddenly looked up, "Baozhu."
Shen Cheng approached step by step, "Why?"
Sangu answered truthfully, "He is your calamity."
There wasn't the slightest wave in Shen Cheng's eyes, his voice was lifeless, "Even if it's my calamity, that's my own business."
Sangu was hesitating to tell him the content on the parchment, when the voice continued in her ear, "It's not him, the one who held that position has already passed away."
His words contained sadness and indifference to the world. It was too real and a long time passed before Sangu suddenly sighed, "It seems that I was wrong."
After sighing again, Sangu raised her hand, slapped her face with a palm, and in the next moment she flew out of the courtyard.
"Your life is his, whether he lives or dies is up to you."
After a day had passed, there was a carriage parked at the foot of Santou Mountain. It wasn't clear how long it had been there.
In the carriage, Shen Cheng's face was haggard, his curly eyelashes drooped casting dark shadows.
Shen Cheng took out the little clay figurine from his sleeve, placed it in Lu Shenxing's palm, squeezing his fingers around it. For a long time, Shen Cheng remained, bent down over his body, his lips pressed against the back of Lu Shenxing's hand, his Adam's apple rolled and his voice was hoarse.
"I'm waiting for you to come back."
After staying in the carriage for a long time, Shen Cheng walked down, his eyes flooded with a darkness that had no end, "I want him to live."
A chill ran down Huo Bo's spine, and he said solemnly, "This old man will do his best."
After the carriage left, Cuizhu Garden returned to its original dead silence, as the owner of the flowers, trees, and gardens was waiting for someone.
Two years later.
The disputes between the rivers and lakes were still constant, but the mountain, the water, and the people were always the same.
In Santou City the noise in the Haoren Inn was lively.
All the Wulin groups had gathered there, carousing together and gossiping. Rumours flew around, and soon they were all talking about the same thing.
Who was the bride for the wedding at Youlong Castle?
On the second floor, on the table on the right side near the aisle, a young man in black leaned lazily on the back of the chair, charming and handsome.
Standing beside him was a woman with bright eyes and white teeth, she listened to all the voices downstairs and asked uncertainly, "Gongzi, shall we go to Youlong Castle?"
"Of course." The young man curled his lips while playing with a little clay figure in his hand, "Ning Xiang, bring the gift."