Chapter 21

Chapter 21

One of the Gu family's country manors had run into some trouble. Xie Licheng didn't know the specifics—he'd barely gotten back before Xuan Cui was urging him to pack his things, hop on Gu Zhangyuan's carriage, and leave the Gu estate with him.

This time, Xie Licheng drove the carriage that followed right behind Gu Zhangyuan's.

Gazing at the lavishly decorated carriage ahead, he for some reason recalled that moment in the pavilion when Gu Zhangyuan's fingertip had brushed against the back of his hand.

To be honest, faced with such a gorgeous beauty, Xie Licheng had entertained a fleeting wicked thought.

For instance... once the world descended into chaos, he could just snatch the guy up and drag him into his personal world.

Of course, that thought vanished as fast as it came.

Forced affection was something only guys with no game would do.

He wasn't ugly, and he was bound to become a powerhouse.

Compared to someone he had to force, he'd rather have someone who came to him willingly.

Because forced melons aren't sweet, and a beauty shoved onto a bed will bite.

Xie Licheng's personal world was, to him, the safest and most comfortable place.

He didn't want to spend his days in that world, watching his back against the person in his bed.

Lately, Xie Licheng had leveled up considerably, reaching level 70.

Combined with the attribute points he'd carefully saved up earlier, he now had 35 attribute points.

There was no level cap—as long as he could level up, he could earn attribute points.

It was just that as his level climbed higher, the experience needed for each level-up kept increasing.

Reaching level 100 was a major milestone, but hitting it gave him one lottery draw.

The draw was for attribute points, with a minimum of 5 points and a maximum of 100 points.

In his previous life, when Xie Licheng had drawn, he'd been lucky enough to get 49 attribute points.

With all those extra points, he'd boosted his agility and defense significantly.

Xie Licheng was now itching to reach level 100 before the chaos erupted, to snag those free attribute points.

Of his current 35 attribute points, he kept 10 for survival and put the remaining 25 into strength and luck.

After adding those 25 points, Xie Licheng's strength was at 54, and his luck was at 30.

Through nearly twenty days of training and good eating, Xie Licheng had brought his weight up to 67 kilograms.

With the added weight and enough strength, his fighting ability was growing at a rapid pace.

Knowing there were still over two months before the chaos, Xie Licheng wasn't in such a hurry anymore.

Now he could spare some time to stock up his personal world with supplies.

His personal world seemed well-stocked, but with that quest progress bar that had popped up out of nowhere, he'd likely be bringing actual people into it in the future.

Once there were more people, his supplies might not suffice.

The future was unpredictable, but ever since getting this personal world, hoarding had become his obsession.

No matter what happened, supplies would never let him down. If he could, he still wanted to stockpile as much as he could.

...

The Gu manor that had the problem was located in a town over forty li outside the city. The area was relatively remote, so Gu Zhangyuan had brought a good number of people.

They traveled for an entire day, not getting there until after dark.

It was only then that Xie Licheng learned what had happened at the manor.

Two hired hands had gone missing from the manor. Losing two strong young men in a row—something about it felt off.

Usually, a steward could have handled such a matter.

But Gu Zhangyuan's uncle, the Second Master of the Gu family, thought he needed more experience and eventually be capable of upholding the family's reputation.

As the eldest legitimate son, Gu Zhangyuan couldn't easily decline his uncle's direct request without seeming incompetent.

At this point, Xie Licheng didn't really like the idea of Gu Zhangyuan leaving the city.

The novel said that over two months later, in summer, the entire Lingzhou City would descend into chaos.

But the timing wasn't set in stone—a place didn't collapse overnight; there were signs long before.

In the story, Gu Zhangyuan hadn't come here alone either, so in Xie Licheng's view, he didn't approve of this trip.

But now that they were already out, he figured since he was right there with Gu Zhangyuan.

As long as he was there, he couldn't vouch for anyone else's safety, but he could protect Gu Zhangyuan.

Xie Licheng arrived at the manor with the convoy and got to work like the other drivers.

He first parked his carriage, then unloaded the goods, working until late into the night before resting.

Having not seen Gu Zhangyuan in a long while, and with this trouble at the manor, Xie Licheng planned to sneak over to check on him.

Once the other drivers were asleep, he quietly eased the door open and slipped out of the room.

It had been a clear day, and the moon was big and bright that night.

Moonlight was cold—no matter how big or bright, it was nothing like the sun's daytime light.

It felt like a thin veil draped from the sky, making everything look hazy at night.

As Xie Licheng stepped out of his room, he ran into two patrolling house guards.

These guards had been brought from the Gu estate by Gu Zhangyuan. Seeing Xie Licheng sneaking around in the dead of night instead of resting, they didn't question him.

Not because they were slacking off—rather, everyone in the Gu household now knew that Xie Licheng, the driver, was the Eldest Young Master's man.

It was somewhat amusing: to this day, Xie Licheng still had no proper name publicly, yet everyone in the Gu family knew his face by heart.

They all knew he belonged to the Eldest Young Master and assumed they'd already been intimate.

Tagged with the Eldest Young Master's label, even as a nameless driver, everyone instinctively remembered him.

Seeing they didn't stop him, Xie Licheng boldly made his way toward Gu Zhangyuan's courtyard.

Then, as he walked, just as he was nearing the entrance to Gu Zhangyuan's courtyard, he suddenly felt something flash past not far away.

Xie Licheng slowed his steps slightly, and walked toward the spot that had put him on edge.

By the time he reached it, there was nothing there anymore in that place where the moonlight didn't reach.

Xie Licheng was sure someone had been standing there just moments before.

His sudden arrival had sent whoever it was scurrying off.

Xie Licheng stood there a beat, then turned and headed back toward Gu Zhangyuan's courtyard.

A guard at the courtyard gate shot him a look and said, "It's the dead of night—the young master's already turned in. Come back tomorrow if it can wait."

Xie Licheng didn't budge. Instead, he said, "The young master said I can come see him whenever I want. Just let me in, and he won't hold it against you—might even reward you."

Xie Licheng talked like he and the young master were thick as thieves.

In reality, the closest they'd ever gotten was that one time he'd grabbed the young master's hand to shield him.

But since the whole Gu household now figured he was the young master's bed warmer, the young master probably wouldn't bother setting the servants straight.

Even if Xie Licheng claimed they were close, none of the servants would dare ask the young master to confirm it, so he could spin whatever story he liked.

Of course, he only dared because Gu Zhangyuan didn't care what people thought about their arrangement.

If Gu Zhangyuan had a problem with it, Xie Licheng would never dream of sullying his name.

The guard gave him a once-over, disdain flickering in his eyes.

He probably thought Xie Licheng was just some pretty boy coasting on his face, and probably figured Gu Zhangyuan had lousy taste to take a horse slave like that to bed.

The guard scowled. "Fine, go in. If the young master raises a fuss, you're on your own."

Xie Licheng clapped him on the shoulder. "Relax. He'll just be glad you handled it right."

And with that, Xie Licheng strode into the courtyard.

Gu Zhangyuan had already turned in, but he wasn't actually asleep.

He was stewing over the estate—it sat in a remote spot.

A few connected mountains loomed right next to it, and the steward said there might be bandits in those hills—the two hired hands had probably been snatched by them.

The steward had already filed a report with the authorities before Gu Zhangyuan even got here.

Trouble was, the officials were swamped, so they'd just swung by for a look and given no word on when they'd get back to it.

Gu Zhangyuan remembered what the servants had picked up while they were at the temple.

He'd heard bandits had hit the northern part of Lingzhou—could this place be dealing with the same trouble?

The estate grew good crops, and he hated to just abandon it, but he couldn't shake the worry that bandits really were holed up in those mountains.

Lots of tenant farmers and hired hands lived here, and if more folks vanished, the whole estate would be in a panic.

Gu Zhangyuan felt something was off. What he'd been told before coming here wasn't nearly this bad—nobody had said a word about bandits.

If he didn't know his uncle wouldn't deliberately hurt him, he'd almost think the man wanted him in danger.

Just then, Yuan Qiao came in grinning, leaning in to murmur, "Master, that young groom is here to see you."

Gu Zhangyuan shot him an amused look. "'Young groom'? With that frame of his, he's anything but small."

Yuan Qiao: "But he doesn't have a name, so that's all I can call him."

That reminded Gu Zhangyuan. He gave a slight nod, signaling for Yuan Qiao to fetch the man.

Once Yuan Qiao was gone, he glanced down at himself and felt his cheeks heat up again.

His father had told him he could take a few servants for his pleasure, but his tutors had raised him to be too rigid about propriety.

The idea of receiving a male slave in his own room—him, an unmarried young master—still felt wildly improper and bold.

But remembering his father's words and his own high station, he took a deep breath, trying to look unbothered.

A moment later, he heard the door open outside.

Yuan Qiao showed the man in but didn't come in himself.

Xie Licheng stepped in from outside, where the spring night air still had a chill to it.

The contrast was stark. Gu Zhangyuan's room was warm and fragrant, and the moment he crossed the threshold, a wave of sweetness hit him.

The scent was nice—soft and sweet. Not overpowering, but heady enough to make you a little dizzy, like sticky pink silk threads tangled in the air, clinging to whoever walked through.