After the Stand-in Hugged the White Moonlight's Thigh Tightly - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: To a Place Where There Is Only You and Me…

After taking the medicine, the patients’ condition was well controlled. Even the skin lesions began to heal. At this rate, there would be a noticeable improvement in less than half a month.

Of course, this was Ruan Mingyu’s initial prediction.

Things slowly started to go wrong. For example, patients often complained of stomach aches or states of madness after taking the medicine. Ruan Mingyu initially didn’t pay attention, believing that drug reactions were normal.

Later, he was almost bitten by a patient, or nearly run over by a carriage while walking on the street.

Ruan Mingyu realized that these were all aimed at him.

But he had no enemies in this unfamiliar place. The most likely scenario was that someone didn’t want him to cure these patients with his medicine.

Ruan Mingyu recounted his recent experiences to Song Chenxi.

After listening, Song Chenxi said: “I know you won’t leave this place now, so tomorrow I will follow you. Wherever you go, I will go.”

“Then thank you, Senior Brother.” After saying this, Ruan Mingyu was suddenly taken aback. Why did he take Song Chenxi’s kindness towards him for granted? Since when did he start accepting Song Chenxi’s presence by his side?

Silence fell between them for a moment.

The bed in the tent was small, and the two of them squeezed onto it, making it difficult to even turn over. Ruan Mingyu felt as if he was transported back to his distant youth, sharing the small bed on Yuan Tai Peak with Song Chenxi.

At that time, Song Chenxi wasn’t as merciful as he was now, willing to let him sleep until late morning. He would religiously get up to practice his sword before dawn and before the roosters crowed.

Ruan Mingyu was tormented.

He tried many methods later, such as secretly hiding Song Chenxi’s sword or complaining to Master. But none of these methods worked. Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed Song Chenxi’s sleeve to plead with him.

“Senior Brother, I’m sleepy. Can you please not get up so early to practice your sword?”

Song Chenxi gave him a half-smile and returned the sword to its sheath, telling him:

“Unless you beg me.”

For something that could be solved with just a few words, Ruan Mingyu didn’t hesitate: “I beg you. Senior Brother, you are the best. Can you bear to see me go out with two big dark circles under my eyes every day?”

Song Chenxi kept his word. Since then, Song Chenxi never seemed to practice his sword that early again, sleeping in with him every day until late morning.

So much time had passed, yet his memory was still so clear.

Song Chenxi reached out and pinched his face: “What are you thinking about? You’re not concentrating when talking to me.” His dark eyes looked at Ruan Mingyu, strongly expressing his dissatisfaction, “Who are you thinking about? Shen Yanyuan or Gu Xiaoxiao or someone else?”

Ruan Mingyu, being quick-witted, reflexively replied: “I’m thinking about you.”

Song Chenxi let out a soft chuckle, put his arm around his waist, pulled him closer, and kissed his forehead: “My efforts haven’t been wasted on you.”

“…”

At first, Ruan Mingyu only encountered minor accidents. Later, they stopped pretending and sent people to directly assassinate him.

The plan to settle the score with the City Lord in a few days had to be moved up.

As night fell, the two secretly infiltrated the City Lord’s mansion.

The mansion was completely calm and seemed perfectly normal. After searching for a while and finding nothing unusual, they were about to leave when they saw the old City Lord returning from outside. His face was unpleasant, a stark contrast to his previously amiable demeanor.

The two jumped onto the roof. Ruan Mingyu cautiously moved a roof tile aside, but when he looked down, he couldn’t see the City Lord!

They had clearly seen him enter the house. Where had he gone in such a short time?

They exchanged a look. There was definitely something fishy going on.

After a while, there was still no movement inside the room.

The two jumped down from the roof and stealthily entered the room.

On the surface, there were no clues in the room, yet the City Lord was nowhere to be seen.

“There must be a secret passage here,” Ruan Mingyu whispered.

They searched the room for a long time and finally found the entrance to a secret passage.

Ruan Mingyu turned the blue and white porcelain vase on the bookshelf. With a “thud,” the bookshelf moved backward, revealing a passage.

Ruan Mingyu peered inside. It was pitch black. Just as he was hesitating whether to enter, Song Chenxi pushed him aside and walked in front.

Ruan Mingyu then confidently followed behind.

It was pitch black ahead. Ruan Mingyu held onto Song Chenxi and walked forward.

After walking for a while, they could see the light emanating from a wall sconce ahead. The two stopped and hid in a concealed spot.

They could faintly hear voices.

“Bite him!”

“Only the strongest are fit to live!”

Ruan Mingyu looked over and saw many inhuman, ghostly figures locked inside. They were hideous with blue faces and fangs. At the City Lord’s command, these people began to fight each other. They were like zombies, but their combat power was extremely frightening. Their physical strength was several times that of normal people, and their bite force was incredibly strong, even biting off half of an opponent’s face on the spot. The scene was extremely bloody, making Ruan Mingyu feel sick to his stomach.

Ruan Mingyu suddenly saw his cousin’s figure. He was covered in blood and radiating a killing intent. Even Yusheng might not be able to recognize him if he stood right in front of her.

His cousin was not the only one locked up inside. The City Lord was making these people hurt each other, like raising venomous beasts for his own purposes.

Song Chenxi’s face was stern and murderous. He said to Ruan Mingyu: “I will deal with the City Lord in a moment. You go and take your cousin out.”

Ruan Mingyu nodded.

Ruan Mingyu still had great faith in Song Chenxi’s combat ability. He was only worried about the cunning and treacherous City Lord having some tricks up his sleeve.

The area was too confined for Song Chenxi to deploy a full sword formation, so he drew his sword and charged.

“Who are you? Who told you to break in!” the City Lord shouted harshly.

The City Lord was truly despicable. After exchanging a few moves with Song Chenxi, he began to lose ground, so he ordered the surrounding ‘poisoned people’ to attack. The controlled victims started assaulting Song Chenxi.

Since these people could still be saved, and they were lives, Song Chenxi held back a little. The City Lord took the opportunity to sneak attack Song Chenxi again, leaving several cuts on his sleeve.

Ruan Mingyu couldn’t help but worry for him. Song Chenxi shot Ruan Mingyu a look, and Ruan Mingyu instantly understood his meaning.

He pulled out a handful of Body Fixing Talismans and pasted them onto the heads of every ‘poisoned person.’ Those people immediately stopped moving, rendering the City Lord’s commands useless.

Ruan Mingyu grabbed as many people as he could with one hand and rushed out through the secret passage immediately, moving away from the City Lord’s control range. His cousin’s eyes gradually focused.

Ruan Mingyu fed them some pills. Before leaving, he said: “Cousin, please go see Yusheng when you’re well. She misses you very much.”

His cousin blinked, seeming to understand his words.

Ruan Mingyu then rushed back without stopping. Song Chenxi was still inside.

Returning to the secret passage, the surroundings were completely silent. There was no one there. Ruan Mingyu’s heart skipped a beat. What was going on? He hadn’t been gone for long.

The ground was covered with signs of a struggle and a pool of blood. Although Ruan Mingyu was panicking, he forced himself to stay calm. He searched around and finally noticed something strange. The bricks in the wall were loose. There must be another mechanism here!

Time passed second by second. Cold sweat ran down Ruan Mingyu’s face. Song Chenxi absolutely could not be hurt.

He felt around on the wall for a while, and finally pulled down the wall sconce.

“Boom!” The ground began to shake and sink. Ruan Mingyu tumbled down to the level below.

He fell, then climbed up, leaning on the wall. The candlelight on the sconces flickered dimly. His foot landed softly on something. What did he step on? He looked down and saw the corpses of those ‘poisoned people’…

If only… he could have taken more people out just now…

There was no time for sorrow. Ruan Mingyu continued forward.

He heard Song Chenxi’s voice.

“They are all innocent people. Why are you doing this?”

The City Lord’s gaze was fanatic, filled with greed.

“Even if my Cangzhou is prosperous and well-managed, what good is it? I need an obedient army to march eastward, straight to the capital. By then, let alone the small Cangzhou, the entire world will be in the palm of my hand.”

“I think you’re delusional. You can’t even govern one city well, and you want to be an emperor,” Song Chenxi’s tone was as sarcastic as ever.

Ruan Mingyu rounded the corner and saw Song Chenxi’s figure. He appeared to be injured, with blood constantly seeping from his arm. Although the skin on his arm wasn’t festered, two bloody puncture wounds were clearly visible.

“Senior Brother, you’ve been bitten…” Ruan Mingyu said in shock.

Song Chenxi’s face changed: “Why did you come back?”

The City Lord, who had lost all hope, seemed to grab onto a lifeline. He rushed over and held a dagger to Ruan Mingyu’s neck.

“The heavens have not blocked my path, ha ha ha ha!” He glared fiercely at Song Chenxi, “Don’t come any closer! I’ll kill him if you do.”

The City Lord looked at Song Chenxi with a crazed expression. The previous King of Poison was dead, and now, a brand new, powerful body was about to become his most capable assistant. In a little more time, the bitten Song Chenxi would become the new ‘poisoned person.’

Song Chenxi pressed closer with his sword: “Who gave you permission to touch him?”

The City Lord stabbed the dagger into Ruan Mingyu’s neck. Blood instantly flowed out. Ruan Mingyu’s face contorted in pain as he desperately tried to pry his hand away.

“You can’t kill me now!” the City Lord roared, “Even if I die, I’ll drag you down with me! If I die, none of you will live!”

Song Chenxi glanced at the blood flowing from Ruan Mingyu’s neck. His face was blank, showing no emotion, only his hands behind his back were tightly clenched.

“What makes you think I care so much about his life?” Song Chenxi coldly swept a glance at the City Lord, making him shudder, “Either let him go now, or you die right now.”

Before the City Lord could react, Song Chenxi hurled his sword. The sword plunged straight into the City Lord’s head.

Blood instantly splattered all over Ruan Mingyu’s face.

He stood rooted to the spot. There was no fear in his eyes, only a death-like numbness. Some malicious thoughts in the depths of his soul seemed to be ignited. Everything before his eyes turned blood-red again. Was this the world through Song Chenxi’s eyes?

“Senior Brother, can you let me do this next time?” Ruan Mingyu smiled, casually wiping the blood from his face.

Song Chenxi knew Ruan Mingyu was also affected by the delusion. They had become similar now. Using the last sliver of his lucidity, he touched Ruan Mingyu’s brow with his finger.

Ruan Mingyu immediately felt his mind clear up, and his brain could think again.

At the same time, a strong smell of lamp oil spread through the secret passage… It seemed the City Lord’s words, that if he died, everyone would die too, were not empty threats. He must have triggered a mechanism before his death, igniting the lamp oil.

They had to leave here quickly…

“Get out of here immediately,” Song Chenxi told him.

Ruan Mingyu grabbed his clothes and wouldn’t let go: “If we leave, we leave together!”

Song Chenxi smiled gently at him, a profound tenderness.

His spiritual power was completely exhausted, so he bit his finger and used his blood to form a teleportation array.

“Senior Brother!” Ruan Mingyu cried out, tears streaming down his face.

“Don’t worry, I won’t die. Didn’t you say I’m the main character?”

He pushed Ruan Mingyu into the center of the array.

“Go. Don’t come back this time.”

…

When Ruan Mingyu regained consciousness, he was already outside the city. He scrambled up, not thinking, and ran back towards the city.

Seeing him recklessly rushing into the city, the fleeing citizens tried to persuade him.

“Young man, hurry and escape! The city is on fire! Don’t go back to your death!”

Ruan Mingyu seemed not to hear them and continued running toward the city.

When he reached the city gate, the gate that had been tightly shut for half a year was finally opened. People rushed out, trying to escape.

“We can’t stay in Cangzhou city anymore!”

“Plague! Fire! Why must we be tormented like this!”

Ruan Mingyu stepped into the city again. The scene before him was devastated. Flames consumed everything. Burnt houses, displaced crowds, and the helpless cries of the people filled his senses.

He stared blankly at everything before him. He had only one thought: Is Song Chenxi still alive?

He no longer had the strength to save people. He immediately sent a message to the sect, hoping they could arrive as soon as possible.

After doing this, Ruan Mingyu rushed against the flow of the crowd and into the sea of fire.

The thick smoke choked him, making it hard to open his eyes. He walked toward the direction of the City Lord’s mansion from memory. The fire was fiercest here. The flames seemed capable of swallowing everything.

Ruan Mingyu was about to cast a spell to create a barrier and charge into the flames without thinking.

Just as he was about to do so, a figure covered in blood emerged from the raging inferno.

It was Song Chenxi!

But he was completely demonized. His pupils were blood-red, and a faint smile played on the corner of his mouth.

Facing Ruan Mingyu, Song Chenxi pointed his sword at him.

Ruan Mingyu’s heart tightened. He didn’t retreat but instead took two steps forward.

He gripped Song Chenxi’s hand holding the sword.

“Put down the sword and come with me, okay?”

Song Chenxi’s eyes remained fixed on him. Ruan Mingyu gently moved his hand down, allowing him to release his grip on the sword.

He obediently let Ruan Mingyu take the sword. Ruan Mingyu placed it back in its sheath.

The current Song Chenxi had no regard for anyone. Ruan Mingyu was genuinely afraid he would do something crazy.

With the sword gone from Song Chenxi’s hand, his fingers slowly moved upward. Ruan Mingyu anticipated his thoughts. He grabbed Song Chenxi’s hand and led him away.

“I don’t like being choked.”

Did Song Chenxi refuse to come with him earlier because he was afraid of hurting him? Ruan Mingyu shook his head. What was he thinking?

Things weren’t as bad as he imagined. Song Chenxi was alive. Although completely demonized, he was still somewhat obedient.

If they could find a secluded place to recuperate, Ruan Mingyu would definitely be able to refine the pill and cure Song Chenxi. Then they could return to the Seven Stars Sect and continue being Senior and Junior Brothers.

That was Ruan Mingyu’s plan. However, at that moment, a yellow talisman suddenly flashed before his eyes.

“We have arrived outside the city. Where are you?”

His fellow disciples had arrived, but Song Chenxi in his current state absolutely could not be seen by them. Ruan Mingyu made up an excuse, saying they had already left the city, and asked them to stay and manage the aftermath.

Ruan Mingyu immediately said to Song Chenxi: “Let’s leave here.”

“Where to?” Song Chenxi whispered close to Ruan Mingyu’s ear.

“To a place where there is only you and me.” Without thinking further, Ruan Mingyu urged him to quickly activate the teleportation array and leave.

Song Chenxi showed a satisfied smile after hearing this:

“Mm, a place where there is only me and Mingyu.”

He seemed… somewhat wrong…