Another gunshot could be heard as some of the guards tried to get close. Jin Qiu glanced towards Pan Zhiqiang who's ready to draw out his sword, so he quickly stopped the man. If his guess were right, then these people would have no chance against Pan Zhiqiang. Normal guards is nothing at all compared to the warlords or the Emperor. This world is the world where spiritual power matter the most.
Pan Zhiqiang looked at Jin Qiu confusedly. "Why did you stop me?"
"Because I think I know these people. That's why, let me handle this. If it's turn out that they're not the people I know, then you can do whatever you want."
Just like that, Jin Qiu walked through the guards surrounding the new arrived people.
As soon as Jin Qiu get out of the crowds, a gun pointed to his head and all the guards charged towards them. The only thing that stopping them was because Jin Qiu raised his hand. He felt relieved and surprised at the same time because the man standing in front of him is none other than his friend and his right hand man, Luo Zhugen.
"Who the fuck are you?" Asked the man who pointed a gun to Jin Qiu's head. He's a man whose hair reached down to his shoulder. The top of his hair were black and the half down were white. He wears glasses that connected with a thin silver chain. "I came here to meet someone named Jin Qiu."
"It's me." Jin Qiu replied.
"You are Jin Qiu?" Luo Zhugen raised an eyebrow and stared at Jin Qiu from top to toe. "Well yeah, you might be Jin Qiu, but you're not the one I'm looking for. I have no need for someone who has no power in this world. I'm looking for my boss who got locked up by your damned Emperor."
Jin Qiu turn around and saw Pan Zhiqiang stepping more closer. He need to do something before the Commander could act or else..they will die. These people are the people who worked for him in his original world after all. These people are mafia. There's no way that he would let the people he thought as friends and family get murdered in this unknown world.
He doesn't know how they came to this world, but he can't let them die. "Just what should I do to make you trust me and put that gun down, Zhugen?"
Luo Zhugen startled when Jin Qiu called his name and during that short time, Jin Qiu swiftly grabbed his arm and pinned it to the back as he took the gun away. The two of them struggled for a moment until Jin Qiu pointed the gun to Luo Zhugen's head.
That movement made everyone stops and looked at Jin Qiu.
"This guy is your leader, right? Put down all of your gun or there will be a hole on his head. I'm not joking."
Jin Qiu clicked the safety and pressed it to Luo Zhugen's head. He needs to do this to make them stop first. He can explain everything later. The most important thing is to make sure that Pan Zhiqiang doesn't need to use his spiritual power against them. And he's glad that his subordinates still as loyal as ever. Knowing that Luo Zhugen's life is in danger, without hesitation, they throw all the gun away and raised their hands.
"Just who exactly are you?" Luo Zhugen asked, he tried to fight back, but the grip just get tightened.
"I told you that I'm Jin Qiu."
"You need to-!"
Jin Qiu hit Luo Zhugen's head for a bit with the gun he's holding. "Be quiet or you will really end up dying." He then pointed to the gun that his subordinates throw down. "All of you," He called the guards. "Picked up all of those things and put it to my room. And you," He now talked to Luo Zhugen. "You will be coming with me and don't make too much struggling or else, you will die by the hand of the man standing behind me." He released Luo Zhugen and stepped back, but still pointing the gun to the man.
Once the guards seized all of them and tying up their hands, Jin Qiu lowered the gun.
"I don't know your relationship with them, but I still need to interrogate him. They might relate to the Western Continent in some way."
"Don't touch them." Jin Qiu warned. "If there's a need for interrogation, I will do it personally. I will talk to Zhengsheng about this matter so don't even think to do anything with them."
Pan Zhiqiang remained silent for a moment as he looked at Jin Qiu. He knew that Jin Qiu is being serious, but even so, he can't back down now. "You might be the First Concubine, but I'm still the commander who's responsible for the safety of this Empire. You can go to His Majesty but until I received order from His Majesty to leave them alone, I will do what I need to do." He replied. "Take them back to the palace!" He ordered the guards.
"Zhiqiang!"
"This is not only about you!" Pan Zhiqiang scolded. "Can't you see just how much the guards got hurt because of them? They have family and I need to give them explanation for this. Do what you want but I will still taking them." Pan Zhiqiang left with the guards who dragged Luo Zhugen and the others.
❖
While Pan Zhiqiang went to interrogate Luo Zhugen at the jail, Jin Qiu went to see the Emperor at the working hall. There are some nobles left after the court meeting and tried to get closer to Jin Qiu, too bad that Jin Qiu just continued to walk, ignoring them completely. Some think that Jin Qiu became arrogant, but there are also people who think that Jin Qiu became more charismatic with the way he acts.
Jin Qiu walked into the room and closed the door behind him.
"Zhengsheng, we need to talk."
"Don't make that become a habit, Qiu er. You should knock before you come inside." Ren Zhengsheng commented while setting down his brush and looked at Jin Qiu, who barged in without knocking again.
"Can you really say something like that when you also barge in without knocking before?" Jin Qiu asked back. "Nevermind that. We have something that we need to talk." He continued, though he didn't say anything more as he looked at some minister in front the Emperor. And since they knew that Jin Qiu won't say anything with them there, they started to leave the room even before the Emperor ordered them to do so. "The people that causing a ruckus at the central capital is my people. I mean...those who work for me in my previous world. They came with this." He placed the gun he took from Luo Zhugen on the table in front of Ren Zhengsheng. As someone who possesses a gun made by Western Continent, he's sure that Ren Zhengsheng would know the difference.
Ren Zhengsheng stared at the gun for a moment before he took it. A smile formed on his face. "This gun looked almost similar with the one that I have, yet different. This feels sturdier and more...what should I say...easier to use? So you can make something like this in your world?"
"That's not the problem here, Zhengsheng. It's weird that the people who work for me also dragged into this world."
"So you think there's something more behind this?" Ren Zhengsheng set the gun down again and looked at Jin Qiu. The man in front of him doesn't look angry now but rather...worried. Though he doesn't know if the man is worried about himself or simply worried about what will happen in the future. "I told you that I will assist you in the matter, but there's not much we can do at the moment, Qiu er. Be the Empress. Be the center of attention. And naturally, whoever it is that tried to play around with you and your people will come out."
What Ren Zhengsheng said isn't wrong. He managed to know the culprit behind this soul swapping because he started to make a movement by using his position as First Concubine and showing himself to people. If he becomes Empress, will more people come out? Thinking that he will gain more power and thinking that they will need to stop him. It's risky but worth trying.
"If I become the Empress, I want you to take back all the servants that you send for me. My own people are enough to work for me."
"That's not a hard thing to do." Ren Zhengsheng replied. "I just need to tell everyone that they're the people who have been trained to personally serve the Empress. Usually, an Empress will bring someone from their house to serve them, but I can guess that you wouldn't want anyone from Jin Family, so you will need to explain it personally to them. Not to mention, you also need to see Duan Huifang. She has been asking to see you, but Song Yun keeps declining her request under the pretense of you recovering from illness."
After the incident, Jin Qiu didn't go to Jin House even when someone came to tell him to attend the burial ceremony. Not because Ren Zhengsheng didn't give him permission to go, but he doesn't want to go. He felt like he won't be able to face Duan Huifang now. He killed his own father in front of her. At that time, surely she has already noticed that something is off with him. "Sooner or later, I will need to act my part as filial son and visit Jin House. I will see her then." Jin Qiu sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I guess I will try to check their library to see if there's some clue about this."
"You think Jin Family have the knowledge about summoning soul from another world?"
"I don't know, but I need to get as much information as I can. Before, I want to go back because I'm worried about them, but now they're here, I feel even more worried because unlike you people, they have neither spiritual power nor spiritual sword."
Ren Zhengsheng reached his hand out to Jin Qiu and pulled the man closer to him. Their face was so close Ren Zhengsheng continued to move closer before pressing his lips on Jin Qiu's. Surprisingly, the man didn't shove him away or hit him, just stared at him without any particular expression.
"You've become more obedient now. I guess it's because you have weakness now." Ren Zhengsheng said with a smile.
Obedient because he have weakness? No. That's not it. The reason he didn't move away is because he doesn't hate the feeling when Ren Zhengsheng kissed him. But even so, he won't tell the man about it. There's no future for them. He will need to go back to his own world and Ren Zhengsheng will eventually find someone else to stand by his side.
"If you want to know which people involved in this matter, then you should ask your people. Where did they appear the first time? And who send them to this place? That will be important and that will be the first step to get to the bottom of it." Ren Zhengsheng continued.
"Yes, but before I could ask that kind of question, I will need to make Zhugen trust me first." Jin Qiu replied. "Remember when I told you that this world is the world inside a novel? The original owner of that novel is Zhugen, so he might know more about this world than me because he read it to the end. Showing you to him might work. Or I can just reveal something that only I know about. Maybe the time of my childhood? Or maybe some embarassing moment? Will he really believe me..."
"How about you stay here and tell me about your childhood?"
Jin Qiu slapped Ren Zhengsheng's hand that almost wrapped around his waist. "I'll go to check them at the jail."
Ren Zhengsheng watched as his concubine walked away. A smile formed on his face. And happiness that he can't explain could be felt in his heart.
He's seriously in love with Jin Qiu.
❖
"Your Highness, I heard that you will meet the criminal that Commander Pan just arrested. Are you sure you want to dress yourself up just to meet that criminal?" Asked the servant who is in charge of helping Jin Qiu dressing up.
News sure travel fast in the palace. It's still not long since Luo Zhugen and the others are brought to the jail for interrogation, but the servants have already known about them. "They're not criminal. They're the people that I trust more than you guys." Jin Qiu bluntly replied, making the servant turn silent. Whether it's from anger or embarrassment, Jin Qiu doesn't care. As for the reason why he dressing up, he want Luo Zhugen to see that the novel has already change and Ren Zhengsheng will be their strongest support in this world. "Bring me the white one." He ordered the servant to take the pure white clothing set that looked the most common from all of his clothes prepared by Ren Zhengsheng. It made of the best silk and some silver flower embodied at the front, making it looked more elegant than the others. And to go along with the clothes, Jin Qiu wears a silver hairclip behind his hair.
He looked presentable enough.
When he first come here, he thought this look is unpleasant, but as he spend his time in this world, surrounded by people like Ren Zhengsheng and the others, he started to think that this look is quite natural. True that he doesn't look as beautiful as Xiang Ru, but he still can be considered as beautiful. And when wearing this kind of clothes, he looked even more beautiful. The original's mother must be really beautiful.
Jin Qiu let out another sigh before he turns away from the mirror.
"Should I call for some guard to accompany you, Your Highness?"
"No need. I'll be fine on my own. You can go back to your work and also..thank you for your help up until now. I'll be sure to reward you later."
The servant tilted his head confusedly.
Jin Qiu feel bad that he will need to remove someone kind like him, but he simply can't trust the servants. None of them.
He walked through the empty pathway in a hurry and went straight towards the jail. He could see that the jail has more guards than any other side of the palace.
Not far from the entrance of the jail, Jin Qiu could see Ren Zhengsheng talking with Song Yun and Pan Zhiqiang. The three man looked quite serious, especially Ren Zhengsheng. Calmly, he approached the three and Pan Zhiqiang didn't look very pleased as he left the group, followed by Song Yun who smiled at him.
"Is there something that I need to know?" Jin Qiu asked as he looked at the two warlords who walked away. Even from his position he could see that Song Yun tried to console Pan Zhiqiang, and he knew that the only thing that would made Pan Zhiqiang in bad mood like that is when someone or something tried to harm the Emperor. He doesn't want to think that Luo Zhugen and his other underling involved with Chen Lihua, or even the Western Continent. It would make things hard.
"Zhengsheng, what is-"
"It seems like the one who send them to this place and tell them all kind of lies is Meng Chen." Ren Zhengsheng explained before Jin Qiu could protest. "When I arrived here with Song Yung, Zhiqiang was in the middle of torturing someone. You should be familiar with Zhiqiang's loyalty. He wouldn't tolerate anyone who stands across me."
Jin Qiu left Ren Zhengsheng and walked into the jail, running to the cell where they held Luo Zhugen. All beaten up and bleeding. Across the man's cell is where his other underlings are being kept. All those information probably released from the other's mouth since they can't stand watching Luo Zhugen being tortured.
Watching the condition Luo Zhugen in made Jin Qiu clenched his fist and stared at Ren Zhengsheng with hate. The one who did it wasn't Ren Zhengsheng, but he's still feeling angry. "I clearly said that no one laid hand on him so why did he end up in this condition?" He asked the guard who's in charge of watching. "Was it Zhiqiang? Is it because I'm just a mere concubine that he chooses to ignore what I said?"
"Qiu er."
"Don't you try to defend him! It's the truth that he chooses to ignore what I said! I clearly told him to leave them alone!"
"Qiu er!" Ren Zhengsheng placed his hands on Jin Qiu's cheek and forced the man to look at him. "I will punish Zhiqiang for what he did, and I will call for Kang Ying to treat him, so calm down."
Jin Qiu looked at the Emperor and the anger in his eyes slowly faded. He holds Ren Zhengsheng's hand and moved it away from his cheek as he looks down.
He takes a deep breath to calm himself down.
"Have the servants to prepare Zhong Palace and take all of them there." Ren Zhengsheng ordered. "Also have Kang Ying to go there as well."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The guard quickly runs to do what the Emperor ordered him.
The other guards went to help Jin Qiu to put Luo Zhugen down from his chain.
Ren Zhengsheng can't say that he's not jealous of these people. Jin Qiu showed so much attention and tried so much for them. Even now, Jin Qiu seriously feels angry and he feels like he will have a sword pierced through his body if he tried to explain why Pan Zhiqiang did something like this. He really wishes that Jin Qiu would look at him and would show him the same worried expression when he gets hurt.
"I'm going to see Zhiqiang, so can you handle it alone?" Ren Zhengsheng asked as the guards took Luo Zhugen away from the jail.
But Jin Qiu just ignored him, walking away with the group and acting just as if he didn't say anything.
For the first time in his life, Ren Zhengsheng felt like something pierced deep inside his heart.
❖
Zhong Palace. The beautiful palace that usually used by the guest who got invited by the Emperor is now used by Luo Zhugen and Jin Qiu's gang member. It was something that Ren Zhengsheng allowed Jin Qiu to do because the man felt bad for what Pan Zhiqiang did. Not that it will settle the anger and frustration in Jin Qiu's heart though, but at least that would make the concubine calmed down for a bit.
Inside one of the room there, Kang Ying attentively treating all the wounds and bruises on Luo Zhugen's body, while Jin Qiu watching from the side. Though his expression grow even gloomier as he saw Luo Zhugen's body that full of whip scars. There's one thing that he can't stand, and that is to see his companion get hurt because of his fault. He would rather get hurt than to let them get hurt.
"His body is sturdy, so he won't die from something like this." Kang Ying said as he noticed the grim look on Jin Qiu's face. He wrapped the last bandage on Luo Zhugen's hand before wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"Are you going to blame Zhiqiang?" He asked the concubine.
Jin Qiu looked at Kang Ying. He knew what the doctor means when the doctor asked that question. He knew why Pan Zhiqiang does something like this, he clearly understand the reason behind it. It's just that he can't accept the fact that the one who got hurt because of something like that is someone who is close with him. "I don't know. I guess I will need to calm myself down for a moment after this. Obviously, I shouldn't be meeting with Zhiqiang or else, I will want to beat him up." He replied and leaned back to his chair. "This guy is Luo Zhugen, my childhood friend and also my right hand man. We grew up in the same orphanage."
"Orphanage?"
"There's no orphanage here? It's a place where the kids who have no parents, or got abandoned by their parents, lives. At least..until they can live by themselves."
"That world sounds good enough for me. Here, kids like that always end up as slave, sometimes; they can't even grow up because they died from abuse."
In a way, modern world is better than this world indeed.
They don't have to worry about something like forbidden sorcery, or something like spiritual power. But even so, Jin Qiu and Luo Zhugen is not someone who lives under the light of happiness. Their childhood is very hard as they need to run an errand like delivering drugs or sometimes, they would go starving for days since the orphanage they live in is bad.
"I understand Zhiqiang's reason for doing this. Hell..I know that Zhugen would also do the same if he's in Zhiqiang's position. It's just... I'm not someone who can remain calm when someone who works for me gets hurt."
Kang Ying stared at Jin Qiu. A smile formed on his face as he thought just how similar this man to the Emperor.
"This is just an advice from someone who has been following His Majesty for a long time." Kang Ying started again. "Don't fall in love with him or else, you will have a hard life. Who knows...maybe you can't even go home. Especially because His Majesty can make you pregnant."
Jin Qiu know about that, that's what he keep reminding himself, but something he doesn't know about just growing inside of him and he have no way to fight it back. He would never know that his life would become so crazy.
Luo Zhugen groaned and opened his eyes slowly. The first face he saw was Jin Qiu, and then Kang Ying. "Fuck...where is this..." He whispered a curse and closed his eyes again. He wants to get up but his body feels hurt.
"I will leave you to talk with him for now." Kang Ying said. "What about those people outside, you want to let them in?"
Jin Qiu nodded his head.
Jin Qiu waited for a moment until all of his underlings entered the room. All of them looked at Jin Qiu with wary, but soon became a worried expression as they saw Luo Zhugen.
"Boss!" One of them rushed to the bed but instead, got a hit from Luo Zhugen, who winced in pain soon after. That was a hit for spilling the information as the commander tortured him. Now he got tortured for nothing.
"Though you receive treatment from the best doctor in this continent, you should stop moving around your body like that. I won't take responsibility if you need to be bedridden for a month."
Everyone looked at Jin Qiu, including Luo Zhugen who can't move from the bed. They're wary, but at the same time confused. The one who made them got arrested before was Jin Qiu yet now the man is giving them such a good treatment. For people like them, who never really receive any kindness without anything in exchange, Jin Qiu's action is really suspicious.
"That night, I was reading the novel that Zhugen left in my house and while I'm listening to the report about that rat, I suddenly collapsed and opened my eyes in this world." Jin Qiu started almost nonchalantly.
He doesn't know how exactly he need to explain to his gang member or how he should make them believe him. Though he didn't expect them to look so caught off guard like that. "What happened to my body there? I've been trying to find the way to go back but all I got is incident. One after another. Even now I'm still locked in this palace since the Emperor think I need to recover more."
"Aren't you..Jin Qiu..?" Luo Zhugen asked hesitantly.
"Well yes, I'm Jin Qiu."
"No. I mean...you're Jin Qiu, the pitiful commander of Jin Troop who fell in love with the Emperor but got abandoned by the Emperor instead. Did you hear that story from the other Jin Qiu? Where is he right now?"
Hearing something like that, for some reason, made Jin Qiu felt really annoyed and he have this urge to punch Luo Zhugen, though he holds himself back.
"When I said that I'm Jin Qiu, it means that I'm Jin Qiu." Jin Qiu started again. "Unlike you guys, the only thing that transferred here is only my soul, that's why I'm asking you about what happen to my body there."
Everyone there looked to each other and Luo Zhugen just stared at Jin Qiu, who stared back at him.
Though the appearance is different, that gaze is still the same. A cold gaze with strong determination.
It belonged to none other than Jin Qiu. Their Jin Qiu.
But even so, he doesn't want to make a mistake. He pulled the necklace around his neck and holds it towards Jin Qiu. Though the man looked confused at first, he still took it and soon, his face twisted in anger, along with the gaze that directed towards him. "Ah...so you're really Jin Qiu...."
"Why did you still keeping something like this?"
"She's dead so it doesn't really matter." Luo Zhugen holds his hand towards Jin Qiu, asking for the necklace back. "She was my first love that's why I'm keeping it with me."
"Fuck you, Zhugen!" Jin Qiu grabbed Luo Zhugen's collar. "Just what exactly did you see in her? She almost killed you! She was the one who made me-!" He stopped, staring at Luo Zhugen who didn't say anything back to him. So with a frustration sigh, he released the man and runs a hand through his hair. "Forget that." He throws the necklace back to Luo Zhugen. "You're stupid after all."
"A-are you really the boss?"
Jin Qiu looked to his gang member. They all look scary but they're really caring for him. That was why they remained by his side no matter how much he tried to push them away. With tears almost burst out, they hugged him and even though usually he would beat them up for doing something like that, this time, he just let them be.
"Okay, okay. It's enough." Jin Qiu pushed them away and looked at Luo Zhugen again. "Tell me what exactly happened until all of you come here. And what happen to my body there? Is it dying or something?"
"When you collapsed, we took you to the hospital right away, the doctor said there's nothing wrong with your body but even so, you won't open your eyes."
"How long has been it there?"
"One year. During that one year, news spread fast. Our territory constantly being attacked and the organization slowly losing power. And during those fights, the hospital informed us that you passed away. During your funeral, a black hole suddenly appears and sucked us to this world. I figured that this is the world inside the novel I read after I met with the Western Continent Emperor, Severin Fevre."
"So I'm already..dead there?"
"Yes. In our world, you are dead."
❖❖❖