Chapter 62#
Lend Me Your Underpants#
Anan had prepared everything meticulously; the bathtub and hot water were ready in a room on the other side of the Grand Compassion Hall. Sang Chiyu carried Su Ruhui directly into the room. Stepping over the threshold, they both fell silent as they saw the flickering lamplight. The bathtub was terrifyingly large, big enough for three men to embrace. Su Ruhui whistled, “Such a big tub, what, do you want to bathe with me?”
Sang Chiyu lowered his eyes and glanced at him, then set him down and turned to move a charcoal brazier next to the tub. Su Ruhui, not at all shy, undressed piece by piece in front of Sang Chiyu. Sang Chiyu brought a small stool, sat down, and poked the charcoal fire, never once looking up. When the charcoal brazier was hot, Su Ruhui climbed naked into the water. The warm water soothed his body, and Su Ruhui let out a comfortable sigh. Sang Chiyu got up and left, returning a moment later with a small, red-lacquered, mottled tray. On it were a few small dishes and a bowl of white rice. The meal was simple but clean. He placed the food on the table and moved the entire table in front of Su Ruhui.
“Have dinner,” he handed Su Ruhui chopsticks.
Su Ruhui stroked his chin, raised an eyebrow, and looked at him, “How did you know I hadn’t had dinner?”
Sang Chiyu’s hand holding the chopsticks paused for a moment, but only for a fleeting instant, revealing no hint of anything. Sang Chiyu said without changing his expression, “Your stomach growled.”
“Did it?” Su Ruhui looked down at his belly.
“It did.” Sang Chiyu nodded assertively.
Su Ruhui stared at him for a long time, and Sang Chiyu quietly met his gaze. Sang Chiyu’s eyes were always so calm, as indifferent and cool as moonlight. After a long while, Su Ruhui lowered his head and chuckled, “You entered the Black Street, learned the bad instead of the good, and lied to me. It’s a pity I’m a master liar, and you, a novice, dare to show off in front of me. You, you must have been peeking at me somewhere, right?” Su Ruhui propped his chin and smiled at him, “I say, Brother Sang, your hobby is a bit scary. Do you peek at me when I feed the cat? Do you peek at me when I relieve myself? Do you even lie under my bed and watch me when I sleep?”
“…” Sang Chiyu said, “I have never done such a thing.”
“I used to believe what you said, but now I don’t. You don’t believe me, and I don’t believe you, so we’re even.” Su Ruhui mused, “If I went to the guard station for duty, I would definitely leave a pot of meat for my baby. A full pot, eaten clean, the bottom of the pot sparkling. It’s just a small cat, how could it eat so much? Confess to me, did you steal my baby’s meat?”
Sang Chiyu remained silent.
Su Ruhui was too perceptive. Sang Chiyu understood that if he wanted to hide his identity as Sang Baobao from him, the most important thing was not to follow his line of questioning, otherwise, he would definitely be tricked into revealing information. He chose to remain silent.
He was determined not to speak, and Su Ruhui really had no way to pry his mouth open. Su Ruhui gave up and changed the subject, “By the way, I don’t have any clean underpants. Today I hired an old woman to clean the courtyard, and she stole my underpants.”
Sang Chiyu was calm and composed, diligently poking the charcoal fire.
Su Ruhui reached out his wet hand and poked the back of his head, “Brother Sang, lend me a pair of yours. We’re so familiar with each other, it’s nothing to share a pair of underpants, right?”
“No,” Sang Chiyu replied.
“Then I have no underpants to wear.”
“You can go without.” Sang Chiyu’s answer was very unfeeling.
“If you won’t lend them, then don’t,” Su Ruhui grumbled discontentedly, “I’ll just wear my old ones.”
Sang Chiyu’s stubbornness was like that of a donkey; he needed to be dealt with slowly. Anyway, now that he knew where he was, Su Ruhui wasn’t in a hurry. Su Ruhui couldn’t sit still, so he asked Sang Chiyu to find him a map. He held the map and studied it, his gaze lingering on the mark for the Snow Realm mine. This map marked all the Black Street mines and the Secret Sect mines known to Black Street, but it wasn’t complete; some Black Street mines destroyed by the Secret Sect weren’t marked.
“Complete all abandoned mines,” Su Ruhui thought.
[Completion complete.]
Many dense markers appeared in his vision, each labeled with the name of a mine.
“Filter for mines with concealed terrain,” Su Ruhui added.
[Filtering complete.]
Only a few remained in his vision, mostly built in mountain hollows.
Su Ruhui noticed a familiar name—Tianlin Mine.
“Brother Sang, do you remember I once set up a star formation in Tianlin Mine?” Su Ruhui asked.
“Your ‘Firmament’ star formation?”
“Yes, at that time, Senior Sister asked me to find a way to hide the mine, so it wouldn’t be discovered by the Black Street’s all-seeing secret art users. The ‘Firmament’ star formation covered the entire mine. Once the formation was activated, a starlight barrier would form above the mine. From high above, the mine would blend seamlessly with the surrounding white snow.”
Sang Chiyu poked the charcoal fire, “You want the Snow Realm refugees to take refuge in Tianlin Mine?”
Su Ruhui nodded, “That’s the best way. The Snow Realm is so vast; as long as they hide well, the demon race won’t find them.” He sighed wistfully, “Han Ye was right; they are people abandoned by the Secret Sect. Even without the demon race, they have no place to stand in the Forty-Eight States. Others say I support Black Street, but in reality, I merely created some puppets and set up some star formations. I can never truly put myself in their shoes. What if the demon race covets the world? It’s a fantasy to expect victims to consider their aggressors.”
Sang Chiyu reminded him, “The Tianlin mine vein was exhausted years ago and abandoned by the Secret Sect. It has been deserted for a long time, and your star formation is in disrepair and needs to be reactivated.”
“Then reactivate it, what’s the big deal?” Su Ruhui chuckled, “Do me a favor, lend me some people, and let’s go to the Snow Realm.”
The system suddenly spoke: [It is not recommended for the host to go to the Snow Realm to repair the star formation. You exposed your identity and whereabouts in the Elysium Pavilion, and it is very likely that you have been targeted. If your whereabouts are exposed in the Snow Realm, there is an 80% chance of being ambushed and killed.]
“Why don’t you just tell me who the mole is?” Su Ruhui thought.
[My authority is only 55%, and the secret intelligence I can obtain is limited. The list of moles is a top-secret document of the demon race, and the system cannot access it.]
Su Ruhui sighed. After all, thousands of lives were at stake, and he couldn’t just stand by.
Su Ruhui ignored it, estimated the time, and said, “Someone should have come to find me by now, why haven’t they?”
Sang Chiyu frowned, “Who?”
Su Ruhui said, “Ask Anan to check at the door, see if anyone is looking for me?”
Sang Chiyu got up and called Anan to check the main entrance. After a while, Anan ran back, flapping his sleeves, and asked in surprise, “How did Young Master know someone was coming to visit? It’s Blind Lu from the Elysium Pavilion, looking for Boss Su. Should I invite him in?”
Su Ruhui heard him from inside and said, “Please trouble Brother Anan to bring him in.”
“You’re still bathing.” Sang Chiyu disagreed, “Put on your clothes before you see him.”
“It’s fine, Old Lu and I are very familiar, no need for formalities with him.” Su Ruhui splashed the water, “Besides, it’s so cold, it’s not good to make an old man wait outside.”
However, Sang Chiyu didn’t let Anan lead the person in, and directly closed the door. Su Ruhui was a little surprised, he looked up at him, only to see him sitting down and poking the charcoal fire, saying indifferently, “It’s nothing bad, let him wait.”
Su Ruhui couldn’t argue with him. He quickly finished his bath, put on his clothes, and went to the adjacent hall to meet the guest. Blind Lu bowed to him, tears streaming down his face, “Young Master…”
Su Ruhui quickly supported him. His thin, trembling arm felt like a cold, gnarled tree root in his hand. Su Ruhui pulled him to a round chair and sat him down, smiling helplessly, “Old Lu, I’ve wanted to say this for a long time, you call me ‘Young Master’ like you’re singing opera.”
Sang Chiyu sat quietly in the next room, separated by a thin wooden partition. He could hear Su Ruhui and Blind Lu talking.
Blind Lu cupped his hands to Su Ruhui and said, “Heaven has eyes, allowing Young Master to return safely. I said long ago that Young Master is resourceful, how could a mere Secret Sect trap him? It’s just that Young Master has changed his appearance, and my old eyes are dim, so I didn’t recognize Young Master immediately. I hope Young Master will forgive me.”
“No worries,” Su Ruhui smiled, “In this world, no one can see through my identity at a glance, except for the person who hates me the most.”
Sang Chiyu’s hand, which was poking the charcoal, paused slightly.
“Boring,” he thought.
“Young Master, rest assured, I, Old Blind Lu, will follow your lead. Indeed, Han Ye was right, the Secret Sect expelled the refugees, and we have a deep-seated hatred for them. However, if revenge is to be sought, it’s not Han Ye’s turn.” Blind Lu sneered, “If he hadn’t betrayed us and turned against us, selling Young Master out to the Secret Sect, why would Young Master have suffered so much in the Secret Sect?”
Su Ruhui sighed, he hadn’t really suffered much.
“Such an ungrateful and treacherous villain, shamelessly occupying Young Master’s position. One day, I will personally kill this brat to avenge Young Master!” Blind Lu said bitterly, “Young Master, for all these years, I have been secretly investigating the traitor who exposed the Black Street’s location seven years ago. No, there’s no need to investigate at all, this matter could only have been done by Han Ye. It’s just that I, Old Blind Lu, am useless, searching for seven years and still not finding any trace of Han Ye, which is why this scoundrel has been so rampant until today.”
Su Ruhui said, “No need to investigate, I know who exposed the Black Street’s location.”
Blind Lu was stunned, “Young Master knows? Young Master, please tell me quickly, I will personally bring this person before you and execute them as an apology!”
Su Ruhui smiled faintly, his eyes and brows tinged with a detached smile.
He said, “It was me.”
The hall fell silent for a moment. Blind Lu said, “Oh, Young Master, please don’t joke. After all these years, why haven’t you changed this habit of talking nonsense?”
“I’m not talking nonsense,” Su Ruhui brushed his sleeve, “It was indeed me.”
His face lacked his usual carefree demeanor, his expression was leisurely, showing no pretense or performance. Blind Lu gradually believed him, his eyes wide with shock, “It was really you… Young Master, why did you do that? Back then, you held the divine mechanism and ghost hidden arts, and the Secret Sect issued three Class A wanted orders. You should know that if Black Street were exposed, you would be the first to be in danger. Although you had a great righteousness to uphold Black Street, there are many treacherous villains in Black Street. When faced with death, they would surely sell you out to save themselves. You… wasn’t this just asking for trouble?”
Sang Chiyu also frowned, a puzzled expression appearing in his deep eyes. A few days ago, when Su Ruhui mentioned this to Han Ye, he had doubts. Why would Su Ruhui betray himself?
Su Ruhui smiled carelessly, his eyes once again tinged with his unique roguish charm. He showed a reminiscent look and said, “Old Lu, you also know that I was critically ill back then, and no medicine could cure me. I didn’t have much time left. It was already tragic to die young, but if my long-cherished wish remained unfulfilled, wouldn’t it be even more tragic? I had selfish motives; I wanted to return to the Secret Sect to see someone I had missed for a long time.”
Sang Chiyu was slightly startled.
“Who?” Blind Lu asked.
Su Ruhui seemed afraid that Blind Lu wouldn’t hear clearly, and slowly spoke each word: “My fiancée.”
Sang Chiyu’s hand holding the fire tongs stopped.
“Is it true?” He lowered his eyes, his heart feeling as if it had been squeezed by someone.
Could Su Ruhui’s words be trusted? Could he really believe such a person, full of lies and never keeping promises?
Blind Lu sighed, “So that’s how it is. Yes, Young Master has been alone for many years, isn’t he just missing a warm and caring companion? Has Young Master seen his wife?”
“I did see her,” Su Ruhui sighed long and wistfully, “It’s a pity she’s not willing to marry me.”
“What’s so difficult about that? Isn’t Young Master best at charming women?” Blind Lu said, “If you act like you used to, secretly flirting and climbing over walls at midnight, why wouldn’t she obediently follow you? The brothels under Elysium Pavilion, Tangyue Residence’s courtesan Bai Sisi, and Hongshan Courtyard’s top male courtesan Fu Zhou, still miss you.”
“What is all this nonsense?” Su Ruhui quickly interrupted him, “I have nothing to do with them!”
“Young Master, don’t hide it from me.” Blind Lu chuckled, “Although I wasn’t by your side every day like Han Ye, I also know that every time it was their birthday, you would order someone to send them some headwear and jewelry as congratulations. Speaking of which, Bai Sisi of Tangyue Residence was diagnosed with pregnancy not long after you left, and now that child should be seven years old. Young Master, could that child be yours? If it really is your offspring, we must not let him wander outside and recognize someone else as his father!”
After Blind Lu’s earnest words, Su Ruhui felt utterly disheartened. Sang Chiyu next door must have heard everything. All his efforts to coax him were in vain.
“Old Lu, it’s late, you should go back and rest.” Su Ruhui pushed him.
“Alright,” Blind Lu grabbed Su Ruhui’s hands, “I’ll go investigate right away to see if that child is truly your offspring!”
“No…”
Before Su Ruhui could finish, Blind Lu had already left in a hurry.
Su Ruhui returned to the next room and cautiously looked at Sang Chiyu. Sang Chiyu sat on the small stool, his expression as calm as water, as if he didn’t care about Blind Lu’s words just now. He was always so quiet, even in extreme sorrow, there were only two winding clear tears, silently weeping.
The quieter he was, the more uneasy Su Ruhui felt. Su Ruhui pressed his throbbing forehead and tentatively said, “Brother Sang, listen to my explanation.”
“No need,” Sang Chiyu said calmly.
Su Ruhui was a little distraught, “It’s not what you think.”
Sang Chiyu looked at the desolate moonlight on the ground, the crimson gauze lantern casting mottled shadows that lingered on his pale face.
He said, “Su Ruhui, I know you have many people in your life. Close friends, relatives, lovers, no matter where you are, you are never without loyalty and care. I cannot ask you to be as solitary as I am, because I am the one who is out of place, the anomaly. I will not be angry with you, nor will I quarrel with you. As long as they don’t appear before my eyes, I can pretend they don’t exist. It’s late, you should rest.”
Su Ruhui looked up at him, his heart feeling as if it had been twisted, aching.
“Then will you stay by my side forever?” Su Ruhui asked.
Sang Chiyu was silent, hesitant in his heart.
He still had the identity of Sang Baobao, so he certainly couldn’t accompany him every day.
He slowly said, “On the first and fifteenth of every month, I will come to see you.”
“…” Su Ruhui was speechless, “Are we Cowherd and Weaver Girl? No, I don’t agree. We have to meet every day, it’s best if you move into my house.”
Sang Chiyu frowned and said, “No.”
“No room for negotiation?” Su Ruhui asked.
“None.”
Su Ruhui’s heart sank to rock bottom. He told the system to display Sang Chiyu’s notes.
[Sang Chiyu, Devouring Secret Art user, master of blade arts, hates dogs and Su Ruhui the most.]
He still hated him.
“Why do you hate me so much?” Su Ruhui put away his playful expression, “Sang Chiyu, answer me directly, tell me the answer. If I am convinced, after tonight, I will no longer meet you.”
Sang Chiyu looked up, and in the cold moonlight, their eyes met.
“Alright, I’ll answer you,” Sang Chiyu said, “Fourteen years ago, why did you kill someone?”
Su Ruhui was startled, and somewhat uncomfortably looked away, “Why are you asking that?”
Sang Chiyu lowered his eyelashes, his voice sounding incredibly cold in the silent night. He said, “That’s why I hate you, Su Ruhui. You once promised me to mend your ways and stop doing evil. You said you would study the Star Gazing Department, you said you would achieve great things. You killed someone in the street, treating your promise like smoke. If that’s the case, how can I believe that you will keep your promises?”
Su Ruhui was uncharacteristically silent, the cold moonlight sprinkled on his shoulders like frost. If Sang Chiyu had looked up, he would have seen the desolation in Su Ruhui’s eyes. Su Ruhui rarely felt sad; others thought he was optimistic and open-minded, but in reality, he always prepared for the worst. Ever since he realized that his father would never return, he knew that not all wishes come true, and not all waiting receives a response. Without expectations, hope would not be dashed, and naturally, he wouldn’t be overly sad. It was just that when he learned that Sang Chiyu had hated him for so many years because of this incident, a deep bitterness arose in his heart, which he couldn’t suppress.
He was very sad.
“Sang Chiyu,” he said softly, “I might owe you from a past life.”
Sang Chiyu frowned and looked at him.
Su Ruhui tore off a piece of paper, wrote down a location and the solution to a mechanism, and handed it to Sang Chiyu, “Go and see this place. It’s in the inner hall of the Elysium Pavilion, where I used to stay. There’s a secret there that I originally intended to take to my grave, but now, it’s no longer a secret.”
Sang Chiyu took the note, a look of confusion in his eyes.
Su Ruhui crossed his arms and smiled at him, “Go on, sneaking into the Elysium Pavilion shouldn’t be difficult for you, right? I’ll wait for you to come back.”
“What’s there?” Sang Chiyu asked.
Su Ruhui shrugged, “You’ll know when you go.”
Sang Chiyu stared at him for a long time, then put away the note and left as instructed.
Su Ruhui watched his retreating figure, the smile on his face slowly fading like a receding tide. He let out a long sigh, becoming dispirited. “Chasing a wife is really hard,” he thought. To make Sang Chiyu happy, he went to great lengths to please him. Even though he was older, he shamelessly called him “Brother” and willingly acted as his wife, but in the end, it was all useless; he was still hated. He hung his head, like a wilted flower.
Just then, Anan passed by. He called Anan over and asked, “Little brother, where has Sang Chiyu been staying these past few days?”
Anan shook his head, saying he didn’t know.
Su Ruhui thought, “I knew this kid was lying to me, he didn’t stay in the Grand Compassion Hall at all. How could that jade trinket be his?” So where had he been these past few days? Su Ruhui pondered, gazing into the distance. Moonlight lingered outside the courtyard, and fine snow fell on the compassionate brows of the Buddha statue, as if his beard and eyebrows had turned white.
As he thought, silent memories surged forth at this moment.