"A guy like this—if you just listen, you can't tell what's off. Nowadays, some celebrities on entertainment shows often pretend to be ordinary people, or something like that."
Xu Fu shook his head.
"Back then, Lao Chongyuan hadn't discovered himself yet. He didn't know what he was chasing, or what he hoped for. So, we met. The first time my plan fell apart because of an interloper, the villains found their fate too. So, we met. He abandoned everything and left with us."
I looked at Xu Fu seriously. He gazed up at the ceiling, and for a moment, there was a trace of loneliness on his face.
"Do you want to go out and see them?"
"Yes."
A single word was enough to express everything about Xu Fu at this moment. I asked tentatively.
"You've been here for centuries. With your intelligence, you must've figured out some way to leave here and return to the original world, right?"
Xu Fu shook his head.
"The three creators of everything here—in this world, maybe it's more fitting to call them gods. How can a man fight a god, or a ghost fight a god?"
"Gods, huh!"
I smiled calmly. Among these thirteen people, perhaps only Ada once truly believed in gods.
Even from the beginning, Ada was evil just to survive. But was it you who forged his evil—can you say that?
The human heart is strange that way. He possessed innocence, but it was all a lie. Beneath that innocent exterior was a filthy, rotten heart.
Born for evil, died for evil, lived for evil.
Dressed as a beggar, Lao Chongyuan didn't visit Lady Rong's manor or wander near his own home the next day. After everything that happened yesterday, he felt anxious. He couldn't believe his future wife had a man who still pined for her and chased her all the way from Ji City.
The more Lao Chongyuan thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He mixed in with some street beggars, but didn't realize Yanrui had already sent people to watch him, and she herself was secretly observing him.
"Let's see how long you can keep up the act."
On the second floor of a shop, Yanrui sat upstairs, watching Lao Chongyuan disguised as a beggar on the street below, stretching out his hand and begging from passersby. She couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.
"That rascal... Yanrui, maybe I should go..."
Uncle Chongyuan, it's fine—it's actually pretty fun.
General Lowell observed for a while and confirmed it: the tall, disheveled beggar on the street was his nephew, Lao Chongyuan.
At that moment, Yanrui Lee came downstairs and walked toward Lao Chongyuan. Lao Chongyuan panicked, wanting to leave, but some money had already been tossed into his broken bowl.
"Thank you, thank you..."
Lao Chongyuan kept his head down, pretending to limp, planning to leave.
"Hey, haven't we met somewhere before?"
Yanrui Lee asked quickly, but Lao Chongyuan just grinned awkwardly, shook his head, and limped away. After reaching an alley, Lao Chongyuan panted, feeling that something was off, that something was wrong.
"Someone's watching me."
Lao Chongyuan immediately looked warily toward the mouth of the alley. Pedestrians came and went, but on both sides, a few people kept walking back and forth. After wandering the streets for a while, Lao Chongyuan was sure—he was being watched.
He found another spot where he'd hidden some clothes before. After changing, Lao Chongyuan left right away. This time, he disguised himself as a stout, ordinary man, using his hair to cover his cheeks.
"Being watched again."
Then he saw that pale, handsome young man again, smiling as he walked over. A gentle hand suddenly pressed down on Lao Chongyuan's shoulder.
"Friend, haven't we met somewhere before?"
Lao Chongyuan didn't think much, just ran. He didn't understand what had happened, and suddenly stopped.
"She's a woman."
In an instant, Lao Chongyuan understood. He always felt something was off about that rich young man—handsome, speaking in a strange tone, no Adam's apple. He smiled slightly.
"So it was you. Interesting, Miss Yanrui."
After wandering around Rongton for quite a while, Lao Chongyuan finally shook off the people tailing him. The tension and excitement were new to him, and he decided to keep playing along with Yanrui Lee.
That night, Lao Chongyuan sneaked home through a hidden entrance in the backyard. He'd dug it as a child so he could come and go as he pleased.
Back home, Lao Chongyuan skillfully found his storeroom, unlocked the door, and inside were all kinds of clothes and props. He started changing again, this time putting on a fake mask and disguising himself as a hunched, elderly man.
This time, Lao Chongyuan succeeded. The next day, he quickly found where Yanrui was, and those people who had tailed him yesterday didn't recognize him at all.
Yanrui sat in a fabric shop, anxiously waiting for her scouts to return from the street. Lao Chongyuan walked in, pretending to shop for cloth.
Suddenly, Yanrui leaned in and gave a mysterious smile.
"Haven't we met somewhere before?"
In that moment, Lao Chongyuan panicked and hurriedly left.
For several days after, every time he got close to Yanrui, she'd hit him with the same line, and he'd end up running away.
Lao Chongyuan was thrilled. It had been half a month, and his game with Yanrui made him genuinely happy.
Yet after a month, Lao Chongyuan felt empty inside. He wandered the streets aimlessly, stopped looking for Yanrui, and with that mood, decided to leave the city and fish at a nearby lake.
"Had enough fun, Lao Chongyuan?"
A clear, elegant voice rang out. Lao Chongyuan was stunned. On a small boat in the lake stood a beautiful, graceful woman, resting her chin in her hands, smiling at him.
Lao Chongyuan put down his fishing rod and basket, sighed, and sat on the ground, laughing.
"How do you always recognize me?"
"Because no matter how you try to hide in a crowd, you're still you, Mr. Lowell. I want to marry you."
Mr. Lowell's eccentricities vanished. In their third year of marriage, Yanrui gave birth to their second child, a boy—now the Lowell family had an heir.
It was a few months after the Yan-Zhao War, and famine was everywhere, except in Rongcheng. Thanks to Mr. Lowell's help, Lady Rong could rest easy.
To the people of Rongcheng, Mr. Lowell was a great philanthropist, a good husband, a good father. The couple's life was blissful, especially when it came to handling famine—Mr. Lowell had Lady Rong stockpile grain early on.
And the flood of starving refugees settled in Rongcheng, working as laborers.
"Lady Rong, what did you call me here for this time?"
"Oh, Mr. Lowell, just wanted to chat, that's all."
Lao Chongyuan set down his teacup and smiled.
"Idle chatter? Let's talk business instead."
Lady Rong began to speak, recounting the major events near their Zhuo Prefecture just seven days ago: Lady Zhou had committed suicide, Zhuo Prefecture was thrown into chaos, and the border with Qi was under pressure. Zhou Xing, commanding troops, hoped Rongcheng would send reinforcements to help defend the border.
"Oh, that Lady Zhou—how did she become a traitor colluding with Qi? I remember her family were all from Yan..."
"People's hearts can change. In a few days, those Qi spies will be sent here for temporary detention. Right now, His Majesty is busy with affairs of state and can't deal with this, and the news can't be leaked. If word gets out that Qi is about to invade, things could go very wrong."
Mr. Lowell nodded.
"So, my suggestion is to keep those people in your mansion. There may be assassins in the city waiting for a chance to kill these discarded pawns."
Mr. Lowell fully understood Lady Zhou's concerns and agreed. As for sending troops, he raised objections, telling her not to rush. If Qi realized their plan had failed, they'd likely hold back for now.
If troops were dispatched and Zhuo Prefecture became unstable, it could spark major unrest. It's best to wait for King Yanxi's orders.
"Mr. Lowell, tonight the team escorting those four prisoners will arrive. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I hope you can personally take charge. If you handle it, I'll feel at ease."
At night, the cold wind howled. Though spring had arrived, the evenings were still chilly. Mr. Lowell, with several men, waited at the city gate for the arrival of the four prisoners.
Tonight, Mr. Lowell felt uneasy. He hadn't heard the details, but he never expected Qi's people to be so bold. In his mind, the Deposed King of Qi was a timid man. He'd heard Qi had avoided war for decades thanks to the king's mother, the Queen Dowager. Rumor had it the Deposed King was nothing but a coward.
Beside him were four prison wagons, covered with black cloth. The horses whinnied nervously as a biting wind swept through, sending chills down Mr. Lowell's spine.
"Is there something out there?"
A group appeared on the road ahead. Each looked exhausted, physically and mentally drained. The leading officer wore a bitter expression, clearly suffering.
One man in a gray robe, sporting a thin mustache and shackles, led the group. Behind him was a woman with a blank face, then two tall men—one grinning foolishly, the other with his mouth covered by black cloth and his body bound with rope.
"Just what..."
Mr. Lowell glanced over. The faces of the approaching soldiers were marked by fear, a chill seeping into their bones. Mr. Lowell watched closely.
"Oh, they're just scared, that's all. Heh, don't worry about it."
A voice thick with malice echoed out. Mr. Lowell's heart skipped, and he stared in shock. The young man before him, barely in his twenties, wore a smile as sharp as a knife—cold, chilling, and deeply unsettling.