Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Murong Jie let out a cold laugh and said, "Yes! You've seen how the Murong family treats me, and you've seen how they treat your Lu family. Do you think my father would take your father's loyalty to the Murong family seriously?"

Lu Yunqi sighed, "Since you're being so honest with me, I can't hold back either, right? My father's loyalty to the Murong family—wasn't that all an act? Life is a play, and it's all about acting skills. You hate the Murong family, and my father doesn't like them either. Hey, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. What do you say we join forces and bring your father down? Then you take the throne, and make me a hereditary prince, letting me live a life of wealth and leisure."

You never know until you try. Given what the original owner had done to Murong Jie, he would never let him off, but what if?

Sure enough, Murong Jie sneered, "Lu Yunqi, this is the first time I've seen someone wipe away all their past and interact with another person as if nothing happened. Don't forget, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have soaked in that cold pool for a full two hours. I was unconscious for seven days, ran a fever for three days, and could never practice martial arts again. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been pierced through my left lung, and I'd have been dependent on medicine ever since. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had my right leg broken, and everyone in the capital calls me the crippled prince. If it weren't for you..."

Murong Jie turned to look at Lu Yunqi, "I wouldn't have..."

He closed his eyes at that point, as if he couldn't bear to continue. If he went on, he'd start feeling sorry for himself.

But Lu Yunqi knew what he was about to say—if it weren't for the original owner, Murong Jie wouldn't have risked his life to cultivate the Nine-Death Survival Skill.

As the name suggested, cultivating this skill was a near-certain death sentence, but if he hadn't cultivated it, his body wouldn't have miraculously recovered.

At the second stage, body tempering, his meridians, bones, and flesh would be reshaped, but the process was extremely painful.

It was as if every cell in his body were being soaked in disinfectant alcohol and scrubbed clean—a pain not everyone could endure.

Lu Yunqi cleared his throat, thinking, "The person who did those things wasn't me; I'm just taking the fall for someone else."

But he was bound by the system and couldn't reveal the truth, or the romance mission would fail.

Forget it. He knew it was impossible for Murong Jie to forgive him. From what he'd said, Lu Yunqi owed him at least three lives.

For Murong Jie, he had died three times, and all three were because of Lu Yunqi.

No, it should be more than three times. Those legitimate princes of the Murong family had bullied him behind the scenes too—just being called a "bastard" over and over was enough to make anyone depressed.

Lu Yunqi cleared his throat and said, "Alright, alright, if you won't forgive me, then don't. Anyway, you're in my hands now, so what does it matter if you forgive me or not? You still have to wait on me hand and foot. As long as you keep me happy, maybe I'll actually give you those 600,000 elite troops."

Murong Jie said nothing. He couldn't trust Lu Yunqi's smooth talk.

He'd never been reliable with his words before, and in this situation, it was even less likely.

As the saying goes, I'd sooner believe in ghosts than trust a man's sweet talk.

Back at the Lu residence, Lu Yunqi had the house physician check Murong Jie's injuries again. He was in the weakened state of the Nine-Death Survival Skill, so his condition was definitely not good.

Lu Yunqi ordered four maids to take good care of him and arranged six shadow guards to protect his safety.

Then he said sarcastically, "Remember, you're Prince Cang now, not the powerless sixth prince. Use your own strength well. Stop acting like a little wife all the time—people might think you're playing the victim to win sympathy."

Murong Jie's hauntingly handsome face showed no emotion. Four maids came and went, carrying out basin after basin of bloody water.

Lu Yunqi couldn't bear to watch anymore. He thought, Murong Yu, as Murong Jie's brother, had been so ruthless to his own half-brother—no wonder Murong Jie would later shoot him dead with an arrow.

After the wounds were cleaned and the physician applied medicine, Lu Yunqi had the maids bring him a bowl of chicken porridge: "You're badly injured, so you need to nourish yourself. This porridge has ginseng in it, so make sure you eat every last bite."

With that, he didn't stay in Murong Jie's room any longer and returned to his own courtyard.

Liu Bao followed eagerly and asked, "Young Master, you gave all your shadow guards to His Highness Prince Cang. What about yourself?"

Lu Yunqi clicked his tongue and said, "Are you stupid? Your young master is grounded for half a month by the emperor. What do I need shadow guards for?"

Liu Bao grinned foolishly and scratched his head, "That's true. The young master is clever."

Lu Yunqi went to the dining hall for dinner and happened to run into his brother and father. His father glanced at him and scolded, "Shameless! Even if you don't respect the emperor, you should at least keep up appearances. Galloping through the imperial palace—what does that look like?"

Lu An sighed, "Adopted father, little brother had his reasons. He was rushing to save his wife. A real man should do that."

Lu Tong drank a cup of wine in frustration, knowing his son was a lost cause, but he couldn't blame him—it was his own spoiling.

Lu Yunqi, however, didn't care. He sat down and started eating, saying between bites, "Father, I want to give my wife a few thousand troops to play with."

Lu Tong slammed his cup on the table at that, "Nonsense! A few thousand troops aren't something to play with! Besides, he's a powerless prince and your wife. What use would a few thousand troops be to him?"

Lu Yunqi stuck his neck out stubbornly, "It's precisely because he's powerless that I want to give him troops! Look at how those three Murong brothers bullied my wife! Today he beat my wife half to death—was he hitting my wife? No, he was insulting our Lord Nine Thousand Years' mansion! Believe me, tomorrow he'll dare to walk all over you! I don't care—I want to give my wife a few thousand troops! I'm a real man, and if I can't even protect my own wife, what kind of man would that make me?"

Normally, Lu An would back Lu Yunqi no matter what, but this time, it was just too much.

He tried to persuade, "Little brother, a few thousand troops isn't a small..."

"Good!" A loud bang interrupted him, startling Lu An so badly that the bun slipped from his hand.

Lu Tong suddenly stood up and praised, "That's my boy! Back in the day, your mother and I were deeply in love! She wasn't one to be stuck in the women's quarters; she pursued freedom and her life's ideals. I didn't think twice—I let her go! What's the big deal about that? A real man should lose his head over love! She'd just had you, and I couldn't stand it either..."

With that, Lu Tong wiped away his tears, but then continued passionately, "But for the one you love, what's a little sacrifice? Son, you're a chip off the old block! Say no more—as your father, I'll support you unconditionally! Give your wife 50,000 troops to play with first! If that's not enough, come ask me for more!"

He then took out a wolf-shaped tally and handed it to Lu Yunqi.

Lu Yunqi's lips twitched. From nine lifetimes of knowing this father of his, this was exactly the kind of thing his father who spoiled him rotten would do.

Perhaps it was because of his mother who was too focused on herself that he poured all his pent-up love into his son.

Lu Yunqi picked up the wolf tally, grinned at his father, and said, "Thanks, Dad. You're the best, Dad. I love you."

He stepped forward, planted a big smooch on his dad's forehead, and ran off.

Lu Tong's fierce eyes welled up with tears. He slapped Lu An and choked out, "Did you hear that? My son... he said he loves me! Boo-hoo-hoo, An'er, I'm so... happy!"

Lu An choked along with him, "Yes! The kid's really grown up."

Back in his room, Lu Yunqi put the wolf tally into a brocade box, planning to surprise Murong Jie tomorrow.

This life, he didn't need to scheme for power or recruit troops. He would offer it all up to him with both hands.

Before he faked his own death, he would give everything for Murong Jie—live for him, die for him, and put him on the throne.

That way, even if they met again by chance later, maybe, thinking about everything he'd done for him, Murong Jie would forgive him just a little?

Holding onto that hope, Lu Yunqi lay down and fell asleep.

For the next two days, he didn't go to Wanping Wasteland. Instead, he took Murong Jie to the military training grounds.

The Wolf Battalion was 50,000 strong, and now those 50,000 were in Murong Jie's hands. Of course, the Lu Family Army still pledged loyalty to the Lu family.

Lu Tong was skilled at leading troops. Under his command, not only was discipline strict, but every soldier was fierce and battle-ready.

Today, Lu Yunqi brought Murong Jie here because he was worried the Lu Family Army wouldn't accept him, so he came as the young master to back him up.

But unexpectedly, the Lu Family Army didn't accept Murong Jie, nor did they accept him, the good-for-nothing spoiled heir.

The current general of the Wolf Battalion was named Zhan Shou. He was so strong he could uproot a willow tree and shoot an arrow through a coin's hole from a hundred paces.

Seeing Lu Yunqi, the lazy rich kid, and Murong Jie, the frail prince, he immediately put them in their place: "Young Master, Sixth Prince, you're both honored guests. Don't hold it against us rough soldiers! We can barely read, but we only know three words: courage, strength, and loyalty! We're fearless in battle, mighty in strength, and loyal to Lord Nine Thousand Years. The lord handed the wolf tally to the young master and the Sixth Prince, but I, Zhan Shou, refuse to accept that!"

Lu Yunqi turned to look at Murong Jie and said, "He says he refuses to yield."

Murong Jie hadn't expected this either—Lu Yunqi had said he would have his back, yet here he was, throwing the hot potato right back at him.

But at this moment, though Murong Jie was as weak as a kitten, he wasn't exactly helpless. He turned to look at Zhan Shou and asked, "General Zhan, what would it take for you to submit?"

==========Author's Note:==========

Dad: Crazy for love!

Son: Survival first!

Update! Begging for flower votes!