Back To When The Demon Lord Was A Beggar - Chapter 4

After that, the two fell silent. Chu Nanzhen felt awkward, unsure whether to stay or leave. After a long while, Zhi Shiyi spoke up with a hint of hesitation, “I have nothing to do today, could we chat?”

“About what?”

“About your life over these past few years.”

Chu Nanzhen felt there wasn’t much to say. His life had been nothing but begging, over and over again. Feeling the wind on his face, he looked down and licked his lips, saying flatly, “How do we talk?”

He figured if the man wanted to talk, they might as well. He was bored anyway, and it would pass the time.

To his surprise, Zhi Shiyi misunderstood his meaning. Hearing the question, the City Lord frowned and replied, “With our mouths.”

Chu Nanzhen looked up in disbelief, meeting Zhi Shiyi’s eyes. A giant question mark practically popped up over his head. Is he sick? Does he think I talk with my feet?

“I meant,” Chu Nanzhen took a deep breath, forcing a fake smile onto his face, “which aspect of my life does the City Lord wish to discuss?”

Zhi Shiyi stared at his face, thinking for a moment before saying, “Let’s go to the front hall. Standing is, tiring.” He seemed to remember something and added, “Call me by my name.”

Chu Nanzhen thought to himself, Fine, then just stay tired.

The wedding decorations in the front hall had long been cleared away, leaving only a square wooden table and a few chairs. They sat facing each other. Zhi Shiyi’s gaze never left him, staring so intently that Chu Nanzhen felt his skin crawl. His body gave a visible shiver as he looked away, asking in confusion, “Why do you keep looking at me?”

Zhi Shiyi gave a faint smile, “I enjoy gazing at my husband.”

Speechless, Chu Nanzhen opened his mouth to retort but ended up just rolling his eyes. “Fine, tell me what you want to talk about.”

“I want to talk about many things, but I fear you’ll find me wordy,” Zhi Shiyi said with a frown, sounding slightly dejected. This was the second time he had said those words.

The first time, Chu Nanzhen had told him he wouldn’t mind. Now, he repeated himself, “I won’t mind. If you want to talk, then talk.” It wasn’t as if he had anything to hide. Even as a beggar, he lived honestly, never resorting to robbery or theft.

Hearing this, Zhi Shiyi’s eyes lit up. He was clearly delighted, yet he quickly composed himself as if afraid to be seen. However, Chu Nanzhen caught the flicker of emotion, and his confusion deepened.

“How have you lived these years? What did you eat? Did you miss home, or your brother, or your parents?” The questions came rapidly, the pace so fast that Chu Nanzhen almost couldn’t catch them.

Hearing these words from Zhi Shiyi brought a sense of shock and emptiness. So, he once had a brother, parents, and a home? He remembered none of it. He only remembered how he had raised himself and how he managed his daily survival.

Seeing his delayed response, Zhi Shiyi lowered his head and chuckled softly, “I forgot, you don’t remember.” He sounded self-mocking.

Chu Nanzhen didn’t know how to answer and chose to remain silent. Neither of them continued the conversation. Chu Nanzhen turned his head to look outside the hall. The branches were lush, and countless flowers were in full bloom. Just moments ago, or perhaps yesterday, these were only buds. In an instant, the garden had become a riot of blossoms, they must have bloomed right after they entered.

Following his gaze, Zhi Shiyi saw it too. Faced with such an abrupt phenomenon, he showed only a small flash of surprise before returning to his usual calm.

Chu Nanzhen knew he was the cause. This kind of illogical occurrence was something no one would believe if he spoke it aloud.

“The person has returned, and the flowers have bloomed,” Zhi Shiyi commented, turning back to him. He threw out another question, “Have you stayed in Mid-City all these years?”

“Yes, I stayed in Mid-City and never left,” Chu Nanzhen replied seriously, emphasizing every word.

“Why not visit other cities? You could have begged for much more in the Imperial Capital.”

The Kingdom of Qiming was divided into four major cities: the Imperial Capital, Mid-City, Chao-City, and Jiang-City. Facing this question, Chu Nanzhen didn’t quite know how to answer. Resting his chin on his hands, he recalled, “I was in Mid-City when I woke up. Later, I thought about going to other cities, but I couldn’t seem to get out. I’d walk in circles and end up back where I started. I figured it was fate, so I just stayed there.”

“I searched for you for years to no avail. I visited Mid-City many times, yet I never saw you once until now.”

“Then I probably wasn’t out begging that day. Maybe we just kept missing each other.”

That was how he saw it. If he was always there, how could they not have met? If the heavens didn’t want them to meet, it was simply “no fate.” He studied the man’s face, a thought suddenly occurring to him. “Were we very close before?”

“Yes, very close,” Zhi Shiyi said, “I held you when you were a child.”

“…” A look of utter disbelief appeared on Chu Nanzhen’s face. He treated it as a joke and laughed, “Do you think you’ve lived for decades? You held me as a child? I probably held you too then!”

No matter how he looked at him, the man seemed to be in his early twenties. By that logic, Zhi Shiyi would have only been four or five years old at the time.

Zhi Shiyi simply said, “I have lived for a hundred years,” without offering further explanation.

“Pfft, who would believe that? Did an immortal touch your head? You don’t even have any white hair,” Chu Nanzhen said mercilessly. He felt a strange sense of satisfaction, as if he were getting some sort of revenge.

Before Zhi Shiyi could reply, Gu Yu entered, pressing down a man dressed in red. Standing not far from them, she bowed respectfully and said, “City Lord, an assassin was discovered.”

“Who, who, who is an assassin! Can you let go of me first? Can’t we talk this out nicely?!” The youth had delicate features and wore red robes that shimmered with starlight, like a red moon on a full night. A red flute and a token hung from his waist. His voice carried a hint of impatience as he struggled to break free to no avail. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and put on a fake smile, “As the saying goes, a gentleman uses his tongue, not his fists,” His high-tied silver hair swayed with his movements.

Zhi Shiyi leaned his head on one hand, looking languid. He squinted at the youth and saw the character “Zhong” carved on the token. He looked away and mused, “For a member of the Zhongshao Sect to break into my City Lord’s Manor, isn’t that a bit excessive?”

Nowadays, the various sects were powerful, yet none harbored rebellious hearts. They were loyal to the current Emperor, and their disciples were full of geniuses.

Chu Nanzhen sized up the youth. The boy heard Zhi Shiyi’s words and turned his head with a disdainful smirk, as if the person wearing the fake smile a moment ago wasn’t him.

Gu Yu said, “I went to clean the Young Master’s room just now. As soon as I entered, someone covered my mouth. I exchanged blows with him, and his strength is inferior to mine.”

“Are you here to kill him?” Zhi Shiyi pointed a finger lightly at Chu Nanzhen.

Hearing this, Chu Nanzhen’s heart skipped a beat. He had been here for barely a day, and he was realizing that quite a few people wanted him dead. And all of this was thanks to the City Lord! He sighed, wondering if he would even survive the coming days. He was suddenly very worried about his little life.

The youth shook his head, “You guessed wrong, City Lord. The one I’m supposed to kill is you, but I’m not just here to kill, I’m here to kidnap. After all, I’ve taken the money, so I have to do the job. Mostly because that person offered way too much.”

“Oh?”

Both of them became interested at the phrase “offered too much,” and they turned curious gazes toward him.

Chu Nanzhen breathed a sigh of relief. Good, at least he wasn’t the target this time.

“How much did they give you?” Zhi Shiyi wanted to see how much his life was worth.

Seeing their reaction, the youth quickly looked away and shouted, “Why should I tell you! You’re not my employer! I suggest you let me go quickly, or I’ll make things difficult for you!”

“How difficult?” Zhi Shiyi raised an eyebrow, “Is Sect Leader Zhong doing well lately? Is his heart condition any better? I shall visit him when I have time.”

 The youth looked back in disbelief. He hadn’t expected this City Lord to have a connection with his master. Very few people within the sect knew about the Sect Leader’s heart condition, let alone outsiders. If an outsider knew, they had to be someone the Sect Leader trusted implicitly.

The youth immediately felt a pang of regret for taking the money. If he had known this was his master’s acquaintance, how could he have come to kill him? He gave a forced laugh, “Apologies, apologies. I didn’t know you were friends with my master.” He quickly explained, “Master sent me down the mountain recently to gain experience, telling me to see the world and other sects, and to make a name for myself.”

“So you thought of taking money to kill people and becoming the most famous assassin in the world?” Chu Nanzhen interrupted before he could finish.

The youth lowered his head in shame, whispering guiltily, “That was the plan at first. I thought it would be the fastest way to get famous…” He then looked up quickly, “But I’ve turned over a new leaf now! I won’t do such things anymore!”

Against someone related to his master, he wouldn’t dare even if he had a hundred times the courage!

“Youthful energy is high, but do not go astray,” Zhi Shiyi sat up straight and said, “State your name.”

The youth replied, “Lin Fengye.”

“Who instructed you to assassinate me, how much were you paid, and what are their intentions? Think carefully before you speak,” Zhi Shiyi’s voice was heavy with pressure.

Lin Fengye knew he had caused a huge mess. He recalled the details carefully and answered honestly, “I only came down the mountain recently. When I arrived in Chao-City today, I ran into someone. Judging by his clothes, he was a palace eunuch. He gave me five silver ingots to take a person named ‘Chu Nanzhen’ from the City Lord’s Manor, then find a chance to kill ‘Zhi Shiyi’ and return to him for the rest of the silver.”

“But, but I didn’t know who these two were! I could only come here and try my luck. Who would have thought one was the City Lord and the other was some Young Master…” His voice trailed off toward the end.

Chu Nanzhen felt a wave of panic. He didn’t need to guess to know it was the eunuch who came this morning. He had only been with Zhi Shiyi for a day, yet he felt a strange sense of worry. He licked his lips and wailed toward the ceiling, “Living isn’t easy!”

“Go and bring him ten silver ingots,” Zhi Shiyi said to Gu Yu.

Chu Nanzhen: !!! Holy crap, he’s that rich?! Just giving it away like that?!

Lin Fengye: “Didn’t I say I’ve turned over a new leaf?”

Soon, Gu Yu returned with ten silver ingots on a tray. Chu Nanzhen’s eyes never left the silver, his gaze shining so brightly it seemed like he might start drooling any second.

So much silver… so much silver!

Zhi Shiyi said, “You have two choices. The silver is yours if you tell me where the eunuch is waiting for you. Once you take it, there’s no turning back. The second choice is to lose your head.”

Anyone would choose the first option. Not only would they get money, but they would also save their life.

Chu Nanzhen leaned into Zhi Shiyi’s ear and whispered, “Ten silver ingots is a bit expensive, isn’t it?” Six would have been fine! After all, the eunuch only offered five.

Zhi Shiyi smiled, “If you like it, I’ll have Gu Yu send some to you tomorrow morning.” He turned to meet Chu Nanzhen’s eyes. They were very close, barely a finger’s width apart. “The City Lord’s Manor lacks many things, but silver and gold are not among them.”

Well, Chu Nanzhen had to admit he was happy, though he felt a bit shy about taking it for nothing. Sensing his hesitation, Zhi Shiyi added, “Consider it your daily allowance.”

Chu Nanzhen sat back, nodding with forced composure. He tried to suppress his grin, but he couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath. He had heard of monthly allowances, but a daily one. He was making a fortune!

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