Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Xie Licheng found Gu Zhangyuan in the small side courtyard of Gu Zhangyuan's estate. Gu Zhangyuan's residence was quite large, with a smaller side courtyard attached to it.

The side courtyard was a garden, which featured a small pond.

Gu Zhangyuan had built a pavilion by the pond, and at that moment he was lounging against the railing, idly feeding the fish.

When he suddenly saw Yuan Qiao bringing Xie Licheng to see him, he stopped what he was doing and gave a soft smile.

Soon Xie Licheng arrived outside the pavilion. He knew he didn't look his best right now, and the smell coming off him probably wasn't great either.

Looking at the heavenly young master sitting in the pavilion, he was afraid his appearance might scare him.

Standing outside, Xie Licheng said to Gu Zhangyuan, "Young Master, this lowly one spent the past few days in the mountains and managed to hunt down some good stuff. I wanted to bring some to you."

Gu Zhangyuan said softly, "What good stuff? Bring it over and let me see."

Hearing this, Xie Licheng glanced at Yuan Qiao, hoping he'd help carry the stuff inside.

Yuan Qiao, however, didn't budge. He figured, since you're already here, you should hand them over yourself.

Like Xuan Cui, Yuan Qiao had grown up at the Eldest Young Master's side since he was a kid, so he understood their master's mind better than most.

Their master was usually too busy, shouldering the responsibility of looking after the whole Gu family, leaving little room for happiness.

Now that the young master had finally taken a shine to someone—whether for their looks or out of curiosity—they, as servants, naturally had to be more observant.

Sometimes they had to make opportunities for them, even if the person was just a lowly groom, as long as he could make the young master happy and entertained.

Yuan Qiao gave a slight bow to Gu Zhangyuan. "Master, this servant still has things to do, so I won't disturb your fish watching."

As he spoke, he turned to leave, shooting a smiling glance at Xie Licheng.

Seeing him standing there all dirty and dumb-looking, Yuan Qiao silently cursed him as a big dummy before scurrying out of the side courtyard.

With Yuan Qiao gone and Xuan Cui not having come along, the whole side courtyard now held only Xie Licheng and Gu Zhangyuan.

Xie Licheng looked at Gu Zhangyuan, who stayed sitting in the pavilion with no intention of getting up, and had no choice but to carry his stuff in himself.

He reeked of blood, so he didn't dare get too near.

He stopped about two meters from Gu Zhangyuan and set down the bamboo basket on his back.

Xie Licheng: "Young Master, these things may not look pretty, but they're all great for building up your health. Please don't look down on them—make sure to have them cooked into meals."

The deer he'd hunted wasn't a wild one from the wild, so it wouldn't have any germs or viruses, and its meat would be tastier than that of wild game.

Deer was also a great tonic for the body. Whether the meat, the blood, or anything else, it could all be used as medicine.

Because Gu Zhangyuan had been good to him, helping and saving him several times, and knowing his health wasn't great, Xie Licheng wanted to build him up.

Xie Licheng just set down the basket without showing him what was inside.

Seeing this, Gu Zhangyuan asked, "What's in there?"

Xie Licheng replied, "Venison, deer blood, antlers, deer bones, and a live rabbit."

Remembering how Xie Licheng had given him a dead rabbit last time, Gu Zhangyuan had only asked offhandedly then. He hadn't expected him to come back with a live one this time.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "A rabbit, huh? Bring it over and let me see."

Xie Licheng hesitated, but still pulled the rabbit out of the basket.

The rabbit's fur was stained with blood, making its snowy white coat look pretty rough.

Knowing Gu Zhangyuan wanted to see it, Xie Licheng wiped the rabbit's fur with his clothes before bringing it to him.

Gu Zhangyuan was indeed a bit put off—put off by the bloodstains on the rabbit, and also by Xie Licheng's rough look.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't reach out to take the rabbit. Instead, he raised his hand and tapped the back of Xie Licheng's hand with his fingertip.

Xie Licheng's hands were rough, but that didn't mean they were ugly.

He had a big frame and long fingers.

When he gripped the rabbit tightly, the veins on the back of his hand stood out, giving off an indescribable sense of strength.

Gu Zhangyuan lightly tapped the back of his hand, his fair, delicate fingertip a stark contrast against Xie Licheng's darker skin.

At that touch, Xie Licheng's whole arm felt like an electric current had run through it.

It was like a hand was scratching at his heart.

Luckily, Gu Zhangyuan only tapped him once; otherwise, with Xie Licheng's hot temper, he might not have been able to stop himself from grabbing that hand.

That slender, fair, soft hand—he would have squeezed it tightly in his own palm...

Gu Zhangyuan said, "How have you gotten thinner again? You seem to have gotten darker too. Did you get hurt again on this trip to the mountains?"

His voice was gentle, his tone slow and calm.

Combined with the feel of his touch on the back of Xie Licheng's hand, Xie Licheng felt that Gu Zhangyuan at that moment was like a beautiful snake eyeing him.

A snow-white, beautiful snake with an alluring scent.

Xie Licheng took a deep breath. "This lowly one hasn't gotten thinner."

As he said this, he glanced at his status panel.

He currently weighed 61 kilograms, having gained two pounds in the past few days—a very fast rate of weight gain.

Xie Licheng explained, "It's probably because I've gotten tanned, and since I've been working out, my muscles are firmer, so I look thinner."

Gu Zhangyuan, however, wasn't fully convinced. "Really? You're not just afraid I won't let you go to the mountains anymore, so you're hiding an injury from me, are you?"

Xie Licheng really wasn't injured; he took good care of himself.

If he had gotten hurt by accident, he would definitely have played up his misery in front of Gu Zhangyuan, then squeezed some perks out of him.

Xie Licheng: "I really wasn't injured this time. If you don't believe this lowly one, you can have a male slave check my body."

Xie Licheng had only said it offhandedly. He figured that Gu Zhangyuan was a young gentleman, while he was a man and a lowly slave. Even if Gu Zhangyuan cared about him, he wouldn't go so far as to actually have someone check him out.

But to Xie Licheng's surprise, Gu Zhangyuan actually did intend to have someone check him.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "Very well then, I'll have my wet nurse check you. Although she's a woman, she's an older lady. You shouldn't mind that, should you?"

Xie Licheng wanted to say he did mind, but as a criminal slave who had grown up in the slave camp since he was a kid, he figured he wasn't that precious anyway.

Xie Licheng, acting all generous, said, "My life's not worth much, so of course I wouldn't mind."

Afterwards, Xie Licheng went to the main courtyard and was led by Gu Zhangyuan's wet nurse into a room.

There was a peony-painted screen in the room. He instinctively glanced at it, a weird feeling creeping up on him—he wondered if someone might be hiding behind it.

But then he figured, why bother? There was nothing worth seeing on him anyway.

He wasn't some shy virgin girl. He was skinny and scarred—who'd want to sneak a peek at a guy like that?

With that, Xie Licheng pulled off his shirt and turned to look at the wet nurse behind him.

His back was to the screen, so he didn't notice the person who'd quietly slipped in behind it.

It was none other than Gu Zhangyuan, holding a handkerchief over his mouth.

He hadn't planned to spy, but his wet nurse had told him that if he wanted to take a groom, he needed to be careful.

A groom wasn't like a regular free person—if he had some nasty disease or a health problem, it could be a real danger to Gu Zhangyuan.

Plus, Gu Zhangyuan was a gē'er—a man who could bear children—so taking a man into his chambers wasn't like a regular guy taking a concubine. He had to be cautious, or he could end up screwed with no one to complain to.

Gu Zhangyuan was raised by his wet nurse since his real mother was always away with his little brother.

When it came to stuff like this, he trusted his wet nurse more than anyone.

...

Gu Zhangyuan's wet nurse was getting up there in years—she was already a mother of two.

Her youngest kid was even older than Gu Zhangyuan.

With an old lady like that in front of him, Xie Licheng didn't feel embarrassed at all.

Anyway, he wasn't fully naked—he'd only taken off his shirt.

In his past life, he'd gone swimming at the beach in just a pair of shorts—way more exposed than this.

The old lady—er, the wet nurse—walked around him with a serious look on her face.

Then she made Xie Licheng roll up his pant legs so she could check them out.

As she looked him over, she said, "Covered in scars—no matter how good the medicine, those ain't ever coming off. And way too skinny. For someone so tall, you've got hardly any meat on you—just bones, really. But at least you've got a decent frame—broad shoulders, slim waist, long arms and legs. With some good care, this body of yours could turn out pretty nice."

Xie Licheng wanted to say, "Old lady, you shopping for veggies or meat? Why so picky?"

But since she was an elder, he held back the urge to talk back.

The wet nurse said, "Alright, don't bother putting your clothes back on. Take a bath here and change into something new before you go."

With all that body-checking going on, Xie Licheng totally forgot why he'd come in the first place.

It wasn't until Xuan Cui walked him out of the inner courtyard that he remembered he still had something to say to Gu Zhangyuan.

By then it was getting dark, and he couldn't exactly turn around and go back without looking like a total ass.

So he turned to Xuan Cui and said, "Miss Xuan Cui, a few days ago, some low-ranked male slaves moved into my courtyard. They seem to have gotten the wrong idea about me and the Eldest Young Master. They were saying stuff like they wanted me to teach them how to make him happy. I'm worried they might end up crossing a line with him. Please remind the Eldest Young Master to watch out when you get back."

Xuan Cui laughed, tilting her head a bit to look up at him. "So that's why you were so set on going to the young master's place today?"

"Not entirely—my main purpose was still to deliver something to the Eldest Young Master."

Xuan Cui said, "Alright, I understand. You don't need to worry about such things. The young master isn't someone they can just see whenever they want. Just focus on fattening yourself up."

As she spoke, she cheerfully scanned him from head to toe.

When Xie Licheng returned to his own courtyard, the little wolf cub was scratching at his pant leg, hungry.

As he prepared food for the cub, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was odd about today.

Could it be... that the rumors in the Gu family were true, and the Eldest Young Master really had taken a liking to him?

But then several days passed in a row, and Xie Licheng never saw Gu Zhangyuan again.

He began to wonder if he'd failed the physical exam and Gu Zhangyuan had cast him into the cold palace.

Xie Licheng was amused by his own thought and didn't dwell on it too much.

Nothing mattered more than leveling up right now. Once the chaos came, looks would be secondary—what truly counted for a man was his fighting strength.

Afterward, Xie Licheng left the city once more, this time for nearly half a month.

When he finally returned, Gu Zhangyuan seemed to remember him at last and suddenly announced he wanted to take Xie Licheng on a long journey together.