Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Murong Jie looked into his eyes, thinking that if Lu Tong's achievements had overshadowed the emperor's all these years, and if he also had a son of rare talent, what would the emperor do?

While Lu Tong was alive, he might not do anything, but once he died, that unprecedented son of his would be the first to be executed.

What could be safer than a heroic old man with a useless son?

Lu Yunqi, however, looked totally dumbfounded, thinking to himself, what are you thinking about, Murong Jie? If I couldn't expose my time-traveler identity, I'd really want to shake you by the neck and tell you the truth.

Forget it, this way, he had saved face.

But then Murong Jie's gaze turned cold. Even if he deliberately kept a low profile, that was no excuse for treating human lives as a trifle, especially when it was his own life.

Lu Yunqi shivered involuntarily at his cold stare, thinking, what are you scheming against me now?

Watch out, I'll tie you up tonight and make you sleep on the floor!

Seeing the guests in the main hall all dispersing, Lu Yunqi ordered, "Alright, this young master has had his fun. Let's head back to the mansion!"

Back at the Nine Thousand Years mansion, Lu Yunqi thought that today he had gotten along harmoniously with Murong Jie all day, so there should be a chance to get him to serve him willingly, right?

Besides, I just gave him fifty thousand elite troops—surely repaying with his body wasn't too much to ask?

But tonight, Murong Jie was acting like something had gotten into him. No matter what, he refused to go to bed with him. Lu Yunqi was so angry that he slapped him with a crack, but Murong Jie just stood there, completely unmoved.

No matter how much Lu Yunqi kissed him or hugged him, no matter how much he caressed him between the legs, he showed no sign of being moved.

This time, Lu Yunqi was absolutely livid. He was an omega male, and his heat cycle was agonizing. He hadn't conceived yet, and he needed to sleep with a man to relieve the restless heat.

Today, his desire stat was very high, but Murong Jie, this human-shaped sex toy, refused to cooperate. Furious, Lu Yunqi delivered a hard kick to his knee, sending him crashing to his knees with a thud.

Lu Yunqi cursed, "You good-for-nothing piece of trash! What good are you to me? Kneel by the bedside all night for me, damn it! Don't you dare get up until I tell you to!"

At this moment, Murong Jie was in the weakened phase of the Nine-Death Survival Skill and didn't dare to resist. He allowed Lu Yunqi to kick him to the ground and knelt there obediently.

Lu Yunqi, in a huff, tore down the bed curtains, lay down on the bed, and gave it a couple of kicks.

But he couldn't sleep—he really couldn't sleep. It was the transition from spring to summer—mating season. Why were all the little animals mating, but his human sex toy wouldn't move at all?

Right, mating!

Thinking of this, Lu Yunqi quickly asked his little system assistant, "Xiao Tong, do we have any sex toys in the shop?"

Xiao Jiu popped up and replied, "Master, in your current location, you can only use a jiao xian sheng."

Lu Yunqi looked baffled. "What's a jiao xian sheng? A jiao what?"

Xiao Jiu explained patiently, "It's... an ancient boudoir accessory."

Lu Yunqi let out an "Oh." "Then get me one."

Xiao Jiu replied, "Mm-hmm, ten points, exchanging it for you right away."

Lu Yunqi confirmed, "Confirmed exchange."

The next second, a double-headed jiao xian sheng appeared in his hand. He laughed twice and said, "Hiss... this... the shape is quite vivid! But why is it double-headed? Is this some dragon race thing?"

Xiao Jiu: "...Don't ask, don't tell, or the editing will kill you."

Lu Yunqi laughed for a moment, but the heat in his body was truly unbearable. So he gripped the jiao xian sheng in his hand and undid his clothes.

And so, the spring night passed without a trace, awaiting autumn rain to moisten the winter wind.

But Murong Jie, kneeling outside, had a slight tremor in his eyes. He looked up at the bed curtains, listening to the faint, fragmented sounds within, and a maddening desire surged within him.

He bit his tongue hard, recalling the humiliations Lu Yunqi had once inflicted upon him.

How he had his legs stomped until they broke, how his back was burned with mottled scars, how he was locked in a lion cage, wounded beyond recognition, taking half a month to recover.

If it weren't for the body-tempering of the Nine-Death Survival Skill, he would have died countless times by now!

Murong Jie slowly closed his eyes. This hatred was irreconcilable. If it weren't for Lu Yunqi, his imperial brothers would have treated him as invisible. And with Lu Yunqi's guidance, those brothers had come to see him as a toy to bully at will.

They all deserved to die horribly!

With that thought, Murong Jie suddenly opened his eyes, steadying his senses. Ignoring the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, he knelt upright. Only by feeling enough humiliation would he never forget the past!

Lu Yunqi, on the verge of sleep, thought, I'm wronged, truly wronged, but who told me to take on this task?

Since I've entered the original owner's body, I have to bear his karma.

Where can I go to reason with anyone?

Forget it, time to rest!

The next day, another refreshing morning. Lu Yunqi turned over and got up. As soon as he pulled open the bed curtains, he saw Murong Jie kneeling upright there, scaring away all his morning drowsiness.

He asked in exasperation, "What are you kneeling here for?"

Seeing Murong Jie not respond, Lu Yunqi's sluggish brain finally caught up. He clicked his tongue and said, "Get up already! Just looking at you brings bad luck! Are you a man? If you're a man, then stand tall! Go, go! Stop blocking my sight!"

With that, he deflated and lay back on the bed, feeling a wave of disgust at the sight of the jiao xian sheng.

He thought to himself, I used to be a good socialist youth, and now, just to survive, I've fallen to this level?

While the maid brought him water to wash up, he cleaned his jiao xian sheng. After breakfast, he slipped into his Wanping Wasteland.

Once inside the Wanping Wasteland, the lag he'd experienced before didn't happen. He looked at the interface and was genuinely startled!

His points had reached over twenty thousand. The radishes in the wasteland had been harvested, the lettuce was almost ready, the chives were about to be cut for another round, the bean sprouts had sprouted a second time, and ten more wooden cabins had been built!

He stared at the scene in shock and asked, "Du Ze, did you do all this?"

Du Ze nodded. "I just optimized the system's structure. Over there, I've planted a lot of amaranth, water spinach, and sprouts—these are quick-return vegetables that pay off in a few days. Master can rest easy; leave the points to me. Oh, of course, you'll still need to personally recruit residents. But once your prosperity reaches three hundred and the system levels up to two, you can fully delegate the system to me."

Lu Yunqi nodded. "Understood, I'll go recruit people right away. It's at the junction of the plains ahead, right? Let's go, where are my bodyguards?"

Not far away, the bodyguards on patrol heard his call and quickly lined up in unison. The captain saluted him and said, "Master, what are your orders?"

Lu Yunqi pointed at the carriage and said, "Follow me to the junction of Wanping Plain and the Wasteland. There's a group of refugees there, and I want to recruit them."

The four of them shouted in unison, "Yes, Master!"

Lu Yunqi: ...Hey, no need to be that loud.

He asked, "Do you know how to drive the carriage?"

The captain replied, "Yes, I'll drive."

As he spoke, he brought over the horse and sped off with their group of five toward the Wanping Plain junction.

Along the way, Lu Yunqi's rear end was nearly jolted to pieces, and his bones felt like they were about to rattle right out of his skin, before they finally reached their destination.

As Du Ze had said, there was indeed a group of refugees there, sitting on the ground with gaunt faces, all skin and bones from hunger.

He was about to go over and ask what was going on when he heard a commotion not far away. A woman was shouting loudly, "Husband, no! I beg you, no! That's our child, our child! You can't do this!"

A man's angry voice cut in: "The adults are about to starve to death, so why keep the child? You think I want this? If we don't give her up, the younger siblings will all die of hunger!"

The woman was still desperately trying to stop him: "No, no! Husband, give me up instead! I beg you, give me up! Let Dani live!"

The man snapped angrily, "If I give you away, who'll take care of all these kids? If she dies, the others can live. We can't all starve together."

The woman fell to her knees, clutching his leg, and said, "If Dani dies, I won't live either."

The man plopped himself down on the ground and started crying too: "You think I want to live? If my death could save all of you, I'd go die right now! But dying won't do any good—food won't just drop out of the sky. Wife, give Dani up!"

The woman shook her head, but the man ignored her, dashed forward, and shoved the frail little girl in his arms at the three people in front of him. In exchange, they handed over a little boy and walked away without a backward glance.

Lu Yunqi frowned and asked, "What's going on? They're swapping children now?"

The guards looked just as confused, but the very next moment, they saw the three people shove the little girl to the ground. Ignoring her cries and struggles, one of them raised a knife and plunged it toward her neck.

Lu Yunqi shouted, "Save her—now!"

The guards moved in a flash, kicking the knife-wielder so hard he went flying. He was sent sprawling and couldn't get back up. Lu Yunqi, meanwhile, drew the ornamental sword at his waist—purely decorative—and pointed it at the other two, demanding, "What do you think you're doing? Who told you to kill?"

The two men collapsed to their knees in terror, kowtowing frantically and pleading, "Mercy, master, mercy! This is a 'cai ren' we got in trade."

"Cai ren?" Lu Yunqi was stunned, and in an instant, he understood. In ancient famines, people often exchanged children to eat.

A "cai ren" was someone kept to be slaughtered and eaten to stave off hunger.

At that moment, the woman who had been crying rushed over, threw her arms around the frail little girl, and kowtowed to Lu Yunqi several times with a thud, sobbing as she said, "Great master, I beg you, please buy Dani! She's already ten years old and can do any kind of work. She... she can also warm your bed, great master. Just give her a bite to eat and let her live, and she'll do anything. I beg you, great master, buy her!"

The woman was crying, Dani was crying too, but the little boy who had just been traded away wore a numb, hollow expression.

Lu Yunqi's heart ached with an indescribable bitterness—that feeling of wanting to cry but being unable, wanting to shout but feeling utterly powerless.

He'd been born into a life of ease and raised under a protective banner. Even after transmigrating, he was the only son of Lord Nine Thousand Years.

He lived in the capital, surrounded by splendor and extravagance, where going a single day without gourmet food was seen as roughing it.

Yet he had never known the true suffering of the world, and now it was unfolding right before his eyes.