WMSG Chapter 32

Chapter 32 Be careful on the road?

Liu Qingying felt like he had stepped into a swamp. He tripped and fell into a slope covered by vines, losing control of his body. In the blink of an eye, he rolled to the bottom, scattering the bright red fruits he was carrying everywhere.

Ye Yueshen was startled and quickly reached out to pull him, but inexplicably caught a fruit instead.

The round, red fruit lay in his palm, looking very appetizing.

However, he quickly forgot why he had reached out in the first place. He called out to “Young Master Liu,” remembering that Young Master Liu had jumped into a trap covered with grass and had been “eaten” by it.

He had brought Liu Qingying out, but instead of encountering bandits, he had let Liu Qingying fall into a trap. Ye Yueshen felt a mix of anger at himself for meddling and guilt for not watching him properly.

He planned to go into the trap and let Liu Qingying step on his shoulders so he could pull Liu Qingying up first. So, he bent his knees and resolutely followed Liu Qingying into the trap.

Unexpectedly, the trap was shallow. Ye Yueshen cried out, twisting his ankle on the slope, and then tumbled down, eventually stopping when he crashed into Liu Qingying.

He didn’t know how many times he had rolled, but his head had turned to mush, and his vision was swallowed by darkness from the outside in. The ultimate darkness turned into a riot of colors.

Ye Yueshen rolled down from the hard soil but felt like he was tumbling in soft clouds, not feeling any pain. He lifted his leg, feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds, then kicked his foot, hearing the sound of water. Raindrops fell on both of their faces.

It turned out to be a rain cloud. Ye Yueshen turned his head and saw Liu Qingying’s silly smiling face behind a colorful rainbow.

“Could it be we’ve reached paradise?”

Ye Yueshen heard Liu Qingying sigh beside him.

After an unknown amount of time, a group of little people jumped around in front of them. On closer inspection, they were actually groups of fruits with drawn-on limbs, jumping and chattering in the language of the fruit kingdom.

Ye Yueshen vaguely realized that the wild fruits they had eaten were poisonous and causing hallucinations.

…

After being poisoned, their legs went weak, and they rolled down the hillside one after the other, now lying side by side by the stream they had been searching for. Their four calves were immersed in the water. Fortunately, their upper bodies were safe, preventing them from drowning—assuming they didn’t go completely mad.

Liu Qingying clearly didn’t grasp this concept. Amid the colorful visions, he became excited and talkative, shedding his usual inferiority and stammering. He directly questioned, “What is it like to be favored by the Fifth Prince?”

Ye Yueshen’s brain was in slow motion, and he spent a long time worrying about whether he would be poisoned to death.

After waiting a long time for Ye Yueshen’s answer, Liu Qingying impatiently propped himself up on one arm, turning to lie half on Ye Yueshen’s shoulder. He now saw Ye Yueshen surrounded by a shimmering, otherworldly aura, his already flawless face enhanced with a layer of divinity, making him unbelievably beautiful.

“Heavens…” Liu Qingying was captivated for a moment, then dejectedly lay back down, feeling ashamed of himself.

Ye Yueshen felt his stomach rumbling, probably from hunger. He raised his hand and found a fruit in his palm, so he took a bite, gazing contentedly at the azure sky and chewing happily.

Both of them were experiencing their own poisoned hallucinations, but they were strangely harmonious. They shared the fruit, taking bites alternately, and no one knew who ate the core.

The flowing stream cooled their calves, and after a long time, the sensation disappeared. Liu Qingying asked, puzzled, “I think my foot is gone.”

Ye Yueshen felt the same way: “My foot is gone too, and my calf is disappearing.”

They were sad for a while, then decided they couldn’t let their legs continue to disappear, so they simultaneously started wiggling their thighs. Liu Qingying moved his hips from side to side, while Ye Yueshen lifted his legs up and down, up and down, repeatedly splashing water in the river.

Ye Yueshen felt a bit panicked. He turned over and crawled away, finally escaping the water. He blinked his long, curled eyelashes, and the vegetation in his vision changed from green to a highly saturated yellowish-green, as if glowing. Some wildflowers shone with fluorescent pink among the green, as if his eyes were covered with a dreamlike filter.

He patted Liu Qingying beside him: “Look!”

Liu Qingying also struggled to turn over, but his legs had been in the water longer, and he didn’t have as much strength as Ye Yueshen. It took him a while to escape the river, and he was also stunned by the scene before him.

Ye Yueshen’s words seemed to come from a distant place with an echo, both mysterious and divine: “We’ve reached paradise.”

They were convinced by the scene before them. The beautiful scenery made them very happy. Ye Yueshen took his hand, and the two of them joyfully spun in circles.

Ye Yueshen forgot which world he was in, only feeling free. The burdens of life and the shackles of poverty vanished like smoke. He felt as light as a swallow, the world vast and distant.

Liu Qingying no longer thought about having a master, and naturally there were no rivals or jealousy. When the original identity that his mother had repeatedly emphasized disappeared, his inferiority and timidity also vanished.

He was led by the fairy Ye Yueshen, holding hands and dancing in circles, jumping aimlessly in the world, not worrying about falling. The happiness buried deep within his flesh and blood became a seed, with all his blood rushing there. Ye Yueshen’s smile poured into his new field like sunshine.

So happiness took root, sprouted, and branched out. He was happily alive.

“We are all free, and no one can restrain us.”

Ye Yueshen’s words didn’t go through his brain but came from his instinct. He continued, “No one can take away my parents’ compensation and property, and then enslave me and morally blackmail me. No one is born entitled to your loyalty. You only need to be loyal to your own heart.”

They rolled in the grass, scratching their hands and necks on the thorns. They climbed up a tree, then fell down, supported by the moist earth.

Finally, exhausted, they instinctively approached the water source like two fish—the place they were originally looking for.

They continued to lie side by side, inexplicably putting their calves in the water, happily splashing like mermaids’ tails, and finally fell asleep in each other’s arms.

*

The most intense afternoon sunlight faded westward. Liu Qingying was the first to wake up, looking blankly at the golden sunset, feeling completely drained, like the aftermath of a hearty banquet, a hangover filling his entire body.

Ye Yueshen was nestled softly in his arms, shivering. Liu Qingying suddenly woke up, finally realizing that they had been poisoned by the wild fruits.

He quickly pulled Ye Yueshen out of the water. Ye Yueshen’s cheeks were unnaturally flushed, and his forehead was worryingly hot.

Liu Qingying helped him up, patted his wet face, and found Ye Yueshen whimpering softly, murmuring in his sleep, “Don’t leave me alone…”

“Young Master Yue, Young Master Yue, Young Master Yue, please wake up…” Liu Qingying shook his shoulders.

Ye Yueshen slowly opened his eyes, and they were silent for a moment as they looked at each other, then fell into an awkward silence.

“I know,” Ye Yueshen’s voice was a little hoarse. “Were we poisoned?”

Liu Qingying nodded: “Yes.”

Their eyes darted away, then met unexpectedly when they were secretly looking at each other, so they couldn’t help but turn their heads and laugh.

Those comical scenes of dancing and gesturing were still replaying in their heads, and the opposing situations created by various conditions were released in laughter.

Liu Qingying said, “Let’s go back quickly. You’re getting a fever.”

“We’ve been through thick and thin together, so let’s not be so polite. If you don’t mind, call me Zherong. What about you?”

“I don’t have a courtesy name,” Liu Qingying said, feeling a little lost and unconsciously averting his gaze.

Ye Yueshen thought for a moment: “I originally wanted to give you a courtesy name, but I think your name is better, Qingying. I hope you can be truly light in body and mind.”

“Then I’ll borrow Young Master Yue’s… borrow Zherong’s kind words,” Liu Qingying said, his voice getting smaller and smaller. He helped Ye Yueshen up, and the two of them supported each other as they returned the way they came.

On the way back, they encountered the red fruited tree again. Near the tree, they found Ye Yueshen’s discarded clothes. After casually putting on the clothes, they both picked a few fruits, wanting to go back and ask what they were.

Because Ye Yueshen had led the way when they came, he was a little unsure on the return trip. After the sun set, the sky darkened quickly. Ye Yueshen had lived in populated areas in his previous life and had an instinctive fear of the wilderness.

Moreover, the last time he had come out hunting with Ye Lingshen, they had encountered an assassin who set fire to the house. They walked and stopped, often hesitating about which path to take.

Seeing that they still hadn’t returned, they were both secretly nervous, their heads constantly tilting in a certain direction. Ye Yueshen raised his head to relieve his headache, his eyes cast towards the endless sky, where the stars and moon shone with a romantic halo.

Ye Yueshen nudged Liu Qingying’s arm and whispered, “Look.”

Liu Qingying followed his gaze, and both were speechless at the beauty of the night sky.

There were sounds of small animals moving in the forest, but they didn’t seem large based on the sounds, so they didn’t pay attention.

Until a low voice said, “What are you looking at?”

The two lowered their heads, their necks a little sore. When Ye Yueshen saw Gong Xunwu, he felt a sense of relief and gratitude, as if his heart had returned to his stomach.

Ye Yueshen hadn’t dared to show his unease, though he was anxious about not finding the way back. He was used to putting on a cold facade, pretending to be confident in everything, both to prevent himself from falling into despair and to prevent this emotion from spreading to Liu Qingying.

Now that he saw Gong Xunwu, Ye Yueshen couldn’t help but reveal a little excitement. He said to Liu Qingying, “We’ve finally found our way back.”

Liu Qingying also couldn’t hide his excitement and tightly grasped Ye Yueshen’s hand.

Gong Xunwu looked at their joined hands, his worry from searching all day turning into annoyance. With a gloomy expression, he walked up and grabbed Ye Yueshen’s wrist, pulling him to his side.

“It’s not that you found your way back, it’s that I found you.” A strong sense of unease prompted Gong Xunwu to try to argue something, but the words felt weak as they reached his lips.

He selectively forgot some of the less justifiable aspects, only feeling that he was about to be infuriated by this idiot, Ye Yueshen. He wandered around the mountain and couldn’t find his way back, and even though they had consummated their relationship, he was still flirting with others outside, being fickle. In the middle of the night, he was holding hands with someone and looking at the romantic stars. He was simply abandoning him, being immoral, unjust, and disloyal!

Ye Yueshen didn’t want anyone to know about his relationship with Gong Xunwu. More than his reputation, he was worried that someone would be surprised that they were together and investigate the matter of him killing someone out of desperation. The main thing was that no one would believe him if he said it was self-defense, and besides, he had already missed the best time to confess.

Thinking of this, he felt a little resentment towards Gong Xunwu for talking nonsense and bewitching him when he was emotionally vulnerable.

In the distance, the sounds of people calling them could already be heard, and he didn’t know how long they had been searching.

In a short time, Ye Yueshen experienced a transition from gritting his teeth to returning to calm. He said to Liu Qingying, “You should go back quickly, otherwise the Fifth Prince will be worried.” Otherwise, Gong Xunwu would say something, and he would be finished.

Liu Qingying nodded: “Then… this one will take his leave.”

“Be careful on the road,” Ye Yueshen reminded him.

Liu Qingying trotted away, and Gong Xunwu grabbed Ye Yueshen’s face.

Before, no matter how cold and unapproachable Gong Xunwu was to others, he would at least implicitly convey some signals of being able to communicate and negotiate to Ye Yueshen.

But at that moment, Gong Xunwu’s expression was extremely gloomy, with even a hint of ferocity in his eyes. He stared at Ye Yueshen, extremely dissatisfied, and said, “Be careful on the road?”