UCTOOT CH23

Shi Shu: “What did you get that thing for?”

“Pain is a punishment, but also a reward. Some believers flagellate themselves, seeking to feel pain to draw closer to God. Some people derive sexual pleasure from pain, to the point of ecstasy. Everyone’s definition of pain is different. I enjoy it very much.”

Shi Shu: “…Dude, you’re insane. So you also got the tattoo on the inner side of your leg for the sake of…”

Shi Shu was too embarrassed to say those three words, so he glossed over them. “Besides, the inner leg could be the calf, the thigh, or the ankle. Where is it?”

Xie Wuchi’s voice was low and husky. “Close to the groin. Want to see? The design is very beautiful.”

His voice was pleasant to begin with, a very sexy and mature sound. When he lowered it to speak by his ear, it was enough to make one’s heart itch. A warm, tingling sensation rushed into Shi Shu’s ears, and he nearly leaped up.

“Why would I be interested in your junk? I’m not looking!”

“Saying you wanted to understand me was a lie. I originally thought you’d be very interested, seeing as I’ve already revealed my wounds to you.”

Shi Shu crossed his arms, not falling for his trap. “You’re truly absurd. You’ve revealed your wounds, but you’re still not willing to reveal your age.”

Xie Wuchi chuckled. “That’s not interesting.”

“So you’re still wary of me, right? You think I’ll affect your career, you don’t trust this mouth of mine. Hmph, if you don’t want to say it, then forget it. I’m not that interested anyway.”

Shi Shu turned his face away. His handsome and fair face, with the tip of his nose a lustrous white, was pouting slightly. His displeased look was particularly charming.

Xie Wuchi: “I like talking with you about other things.”

Shi Shu: “…What do you want to talk about now?”

Xie Wuchi: “I’m very thick.”

“…………”

“…………”

“…………”

Shi Shu shot up abruptly, lunging forward to cover his mouth. “I think it’s better if you don’t talk to me at all!”

After a morning of finding joy amidst suffering, at noon, a eunuch came to open the door. “Count yourselves lucky. Someone came to bail you out. Get out.”

He clicked his tongue. “Tough life. You really should have been bitten to death by rats.”

“I wouldn’t die even if you were bitten to death by rats.”

Shi Shu was dizzy with hunger and vented all his anger on him. “Let’s go. I’m only in jail for a day, but you’ll be guarding this jail for a lifetime.”

The eunuch: “Heh, you little whelp, you’ve got a sharp tongue.”

The Ming Feng Si in the daytime was not as gloomy and terrifying as it was at night. A prison guard was eating. Compared to the sticky pig slop given to the prisoners, this guard’s meal was much better: a roasted chicken, a plate of beef, and a pot of clear wine.

With nothing better to do, the prison guard and eunuch would sit here and eat all day. Around noon and evening, they would rattle some pots and pans, casually cook the prison meal, and give it to this group of prisoners who were so hungry they would eat feces.

Remembering last night’s meal, Shi Shu was filled with righteous hatred. “I wouldn’t believe it if you said you didn’t embezzle the prisoners’ food allowance.”

Xie Wuchi followed him. “What are you planning to do?”

While the guard was getting the documents, Shi Shu grabbed a handful of dirt and sprinkled it into the man’s bowl. “Punishing evil and promoting good. You only know how to eat, without a care for the lives of others.”

“…”

After sprinkling the dirt, Shi Shu’s feet were practically smoking as he gestured to Xie Wuchi. “Let’s bolt!”

With the documents processed, Shi Shu had already run outside the threshold of the Ming Feng Si. A moment later, he saw the eunuch chase out in a rage, grab a stone, and throw it at Shi Shu, but he missed. “You animal! Don’t you dare come back in here again!”

“I won’t. Who told you not to do your job properly? Go on, stop collecting your salary if you’ve got the guts.”

Shi Shu smiled boundlessly. “Sweet, that felt so sweet.”

Xie Wuchi, who had witnessed the entire prank, said nothing, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. They walked a few steps together. Under the shade of a massive banyan tree outside the gate stood three people. One was Pei Wenqing, another was Chu Heng, and the third was dressed in blue silks and satins, his figure elegant and light, with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

Pei Wenqing was frantic. “You’re out? Are you all right? Are you injured anywhere?”

Chu Heng added for him, “Brother Pei was worried to death about you. He didn’t sleep well last night and almost vomited blood again.”

“We’re fine, just haven’t eaten for a whole day. But are you okay?”

Pei Wenqing’s gaunt eyes were melancholic. “I was just reminded of my father’s affairs…”

A young man beside them, with a cheerful demeanor and a bright smile, patted Pei Wenqing’s shoulder comfortingly and turned around. “These two brothers must be the masterminds behind the incident at Xiangnan Temple, right?”

Shi Shu retreated to Xie Wuchi’s side and asked, “Who is this?”

“My name is Liu Rushan.”

Chu Heng, with his arms crossed, added for him, “That is, the Liu Rushan of ‘the scholarly scent of ink and scrolls, a noble family of Jinling.’ His esteemed father is the current Grand Councilor, Liu Rulan, the great blue-sky official.”

“Don’t say that, there are no young masters or heirs here,” Liu Rushan waved his hand. “That’s just my father’s achievement, it has nothing to do with me.”

After sizing up Shi Shu, Liu Rushan’s gaze shifted to Xie Wuchi, and he instantly looked as if he had been struck by lightning, his expression one of utter amazement. “This brother, although you’ve been in prison for a day, your expression shows no sign of fatigue at all. How truly heroic and imposing! I’ve long admired you! I heard you were once a monk? No wonder you stand out from the crowd. On top of your heroic and dashing posture, there’s a hidden, unshakable calm and a detached, otherworldly tranquility…”

Shi Shu: “…”

Did he just gain a little fanboy?

Shi Shu followed his gaze. He had to admit, Xie Wuchi indeed had an exceptionally outstanding appearance. In Shi Shu’s limited vocabulary, it was a face as if carved by a knife and axe, a tall and heroic frame, his gaze restrained but hiding a sharp electric current… Just looking at his appearance, one would think this person was anything but ordinary, possessing a sense of power and control.

He even made people feel an unconscious desire to submit to him.

However, beneath such a deceptive appearance, the memories from prison resurfaced. Shi Shu didn’t understand why he kept thinking about it—how he had held him and kissed him greedily, how he said he had a tattoo on his upper thigh, how he said he was thick…

How was that different from a lewd marking?

Yet, in front of outsiders, Xie Wuchi was the epitome of propriety. A true master of contrast.

Even Shi Shu, when he first met him, had been deceived by his solemn and transcendent appearance in monk’s robes.

Shi Shu didn’t expose him, yielding the stage to the two. “It’s your turn.”

Xie Wuchi, however, remained calm in the face of praise, sizing up the other man. “You exaggerate.”

“Alright, alright, you must be exhausted after just getting out. Go back and rest first. We can talk after you’ve had something to eat,” Liu Rushan said.

They made their way back to the Liushui Abbey at the prince’s estate.

In the courtyard, Liu Rushan rolled up his sleeves. “I’ve had my attendants buy some chicken, duck, beef, and mutton. We’ll set up and eat right here. I’m not very talented, but I’m particularly skilled at cooking. If you’re willing, I’ve recently learned how to make hot pot. It’s a novel way of eating, want to try it?”

“Hot pot?” Shi Shu was excited for two seconds, but the feeling was immediately extinguished by sleepiness. “I’m too sleepy right now, I want to sleep. That place in the prison is not fit for human sleep.”

Liu Rushan said cheerfully, “Then you two go and sleep. We’ll eat in the afternoon. I’ll go to the kitchen now and prepare things for you both.”

Pei Wenqing also chimed in, “Rushan’s cooking is truly good.”

Since he loved to cook, Shi Shu didn’t object. “Fine, you handle it.”

He called to Xie Wuchi, “Let’s go, time to sleep.”

Liu Rushan picked up his sleeves and headed for the kitchen. “I’ll go see what ingredients we have.”

Xie Wuchi entered the room, went to the table to find his medicine pouch, and took out a packet. “You sleep. I’ll brew the herbal medicine first. Your wound can’t be delayed any longer.”

Shi Shu: “But someone has to watch the fire. Brew it after we wake up.”

Xie Wuchi’s voice was calm. “I’m not sleeping. I’ll put the pot on the stove in a bit and watch it.”

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Shi Shu kicked off his shoes and sat on the bed. “I slept for a few hours last night. It seems like you didn’t sleep at all?”

Xie Wuchi: “Staying up for a day or two is normal.”

Shi Shu already knew some people had extraordinary energy levels, like his roommate who played games until three in the morning and woke up at seven the next day as usual.

Shi Shu: “How come I remember you saying before that you needed to sleep every day?”

“It depends on the situation. If there’s something to do, I won’t sleep.”

“Fine.” Shi Shu didn’t overthink it, lying down on the bed with the soft quilt beneath him. “This Liu Rushan seems like a decent guy.”

“He is indeed. This stint in jail was the right move.”

Xie Wuchi took out the packet of herbs and stood there, his expression seeming to carry a hint of contemplation. Shi Shu lay on the quilt, his limbs aching and sore, not yet recovered from the misery of imprisonment.

“What do you mean by that?”

Xie Wuchi raised his gaze and smiled. “Borrowing strength to strike back. Feng Lu hates us, so that makes us friends with those who hate Feng Lu.”

Outside the door, the sounds of Liu Rushan yelling for the attendants to go shopping could be heard, making the whole Liushui Abbey much livelier.

“No power, no influence, no money, no soldiers. The only chance to change things is to borrow momentum. There’s a famous political essay that wrote: Who are our friends? And who are our enemies? Offending Feng Lu is actually a good thing. Eunuchs have always been despised remnants; even if they can seize power, everyone looks down on them. ‘Framed and imprisoned by a treacherous eunuch after cleverly securing military funds’ is a good reputation to have. Once it spreads, more people will be friendly towards us.”

“…………”

What kind of logic was that?

Shi Shu nearly propped himself up from the bed. “We go to jail, and people will sympathize with us? Be better to us?”

Xie Wuchi said, “That’s right. Historically, at least most people despise evil. Bullying the weak and distorting the truth have always been flashpoints for public opinion. Although in the eyes of the powerful, pursuing profit is most important, being targeted by Feng Lu, whom everyone resents but dares not speak against, actually helps build our reputation.”

“He thought this was just a spider he could crush with his hand, but if he fails to crush it the first time, the spider will crawl up from hell along its transparent silk.”

Sunlight shone on Xie Wuchi, casting a faint halo around him. His long fingers carefully gathered all the herbs and locked the cabinet.

The light made Shi Shu’s face appear fair and clean. He propped himself up, wanting to get up, his eyes wide as his mind processed Xie Wuchi’s words.

Xie Wuchi had an ability. When a person was being oppressed by their environment, fighting back both physiologically and psychologically, he could quickly figure out the logic of that environment, adjust his mentality, adapt swiftly, find ways to change the situation, and never truly become emotional.

He seemed like someone born to manipulate situations.

Outside the door, Chu Heng asked, “Xie Shishu, where’s your family’s knife?”

Inside the dim room, Xie Wuchi stood up, carrying the packet of herbs, and walked towards the door. “Coming.”

Shi Shu stared at his back, a chill unexpectedly rising in his heart.

Xie Wuchi, a demon in the dark, a Buddha in the light.

What exactly was the goal of a person like this?

If it weren’t for the fact that they were both from the modern era and lived and ate together, he probably would never have seen his true face, right?

When Shi Shu woke up, it was just in the afternoon, before the sun set.

When people wake up before dusk, they often feel a sense of loneliness and panic. It is said that this is a memory existing in human genes, reminding people not to stray from the group and to pay attention to environmental safety.

“…” Shi Shu sat up. Seeing Xie Wuchi sitting at the desk a few steps away writing in a diary, his heart instantly calmed.

“You’re awake?” Xie Wuchi stood up. “Come out and eat.”

“…”

Shi Shu scratched his hair. “Xie Wuchi.”

“What is it?”

Shi Shu: “…Nothing.”

“Whatever, let’s eat!” Shi Shu put on his shoes and ran out the door.

There was no one in the courtyard. Xie Wuchi said, “Liu Rushan told them to go out and buy wine. He also invited other friends, saying they won’t go home until they’re drunk.”

Shi Shu: “Fine, but I can’t keep up a conversation if there are too many people.”

“It’s fine. Treat it as a social obligation. The more friends, the better. Especially friends of Pei Wenqing and Liu Rushan; they’re all scholarly men from bureaucratic families. They’ll be useful to us sooner or later.”

“Bro, you really never do anything pointless.” Shi Shu gave him a thumbs-up and entered the kitchen.

His stomach was rumbling. Shi Shu hadn’t eaten for a day and a half. He couldn’t help but pick out half a cucumber from the vegetable basket, wash it clean in a bucket of water, and take a bite.

“Delicious. A lotus emerges from clear water, naturally unadorned!” The cucumber was so fragrant that it made Shi Shu recite poetry.

Shi Shu squatted on the steps, chewing. When Xie Wuchi’s gaze turned to him, it stopped abruptly.

Shi Shu: “What? If you want one, go get it yourself from the basket. There’s more.”

Xie Wuchi stood still, just watching him.

Shi Shu: “What are you doing? You don’t expect me to wash it for you, do you?”

“No.”

Xie Wuchi stared at his lips. “Want to eat something thicker?”

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