I Faked My Death After Choosing the Wrong Protagonist - Chapter 35

In truth, Qi Ye wasn’t unwilling to let Shen Qingzhuo see his body.

After all, Shen Qingzhuo only asked him to remove his upper clothing; there was nothing truly forbidden to see. On the contrary, Qi Ye was the one who had kissed Shen Qingzhuo twice and used a cunning method to trick him into acknowledging their romantic relationship.

He was just… perhaps still a bit shy. He wondered if Shen Qingzhuo would like his physique, or what kind of build the man preferred.

Qi Ye quickly controlled himself to shift back into his beast form the black dragon. He straightened up toward Shen Qingzhuo, his tail and horns curving upward as he said, “My tail is very pretty now, and my horns have become more beautiful. You can touch them!”

Shen Qingzhuo looked and saw that the scales had indeed become smooth and their luster had improved. Although he had intended to finish applying the medicine first, he couldn’t resist the temptation of the large tail. He sat down on the couch, placed the great dragon on his lap, and gave the magnificent tail a thorough, irregular ruffling.

Qi Ye seemed to enjoy the touch immensely, letting out a comfortable hum.

However, at this moment, the dragon’s overall appearance was actually not very aesthetic. Shen Qingzhuo had wrapped many of his injuries in gauze; now that Qi Ye was in dragon form, the bandages remained on the wounds. Because the injuries were so numerous, there was a white bandage every few inches, making the dragon look like its entire body had been bound in loops.

After petting the tail, Shen Qingzhuo meticulously unwrapped each bandage, applied fresh medicine, and rebound them. When he finished, the dragon climbed onto his body and affectionately licked his face several times.

Shen Qingzhuo had always been highly indulgent toward Qi Ye’s dragon form. Previously, he wouldn’t have minded such licks, but now that he thought about their romantic relationship, a strange sensation welled up, and he stiffened. Then, he reconsidered: We are dating now, so what’s a little lick? I’ve already agreed to try a relationship with him, so I’ll just treat it as satisfying him.

Since he had just mussed up the scales, he let the dragon rest on his lap while he smoothed them back into place.

Qi Ye finally noticed that this location was none of the familiar places Shen Qingzhuo had taken him before. His expression was obvious; he lifted his head and looked around, his obsidian pupils full of confusion and wariness.

“My cousin brought us out,” Shen Qingzhuo explained. “We are currently in his Priest’s Hall.”

Qi Ye understood. But the moment he heard it was someone else’s place, he immediately took a dislike to it, and his mood turned irritable. His tail, which Shen Qingzhuo had just smoothed, dragged onto the floor, thumping heavily against the floorboards over and over.

Shen Qingzhuo guessed a part of the reason for his bad mood and asked, “Are you… jealous?”

Qi Ye gave a sullen nod, his tail continuing to beat the floor.

Shen Qingzhuo didn’t know whether to laugh or not, but he found it quite amusing. The youth’s possessiveness was a bit too strong. “He is my cousin. Between cousins, what could possibly happen that shouldn’t?”

Qi Ye’s mood brightened slightly, then turned gloomy again. He didn’t like that cousin. “He is more powerful than me. He can help you. I only bring you trouble.”

Shen Qingzhuo knew so many outstanding people; Qi Ye feared he would be disdained. Shen Qingzhuo pulled the tail back into his arms to stop the thumping. If it got injured again, he’d have to re-apply the medicine. Besides, for a dragon, the tail was equivalent to legs and feet; if it were truly damaged, walking would be difficult. He didn’t want to have to carry such a massive dragon forever—though it wasn’t strictly out of the question.

Shen Qingzhuo wasn’t good at coaxing, so he tried to scare him: “If you keep thinking like that, I won’t want you anymore.”

Qi Ye panicked, lifting his heavy head. “No! You promised to date me!”

Shen Qingzhuo smiled and stroked him. “Exactly. No matter how others are, in the end, it’s just the two of us standing together every day. Besides, you are already very good.” He added, “I intended to leave this place as soon as you woke up and your wounds were better. Since you don’t like it here, we’ll leave sooner.”

These words calmed Qi Ye significantly. He transformed back into human form, pressing close to Shen Qingzhuo with a mixture of caution and lingering fear.

Shen Qingzhuo bought two high-quality concealment robes for them to change into and purchased two Disguise Pills. Each item was quite expensive, leaving him completely broke. But what did it matter? Money could be earned again; living comfortably was what mattered most.

He didn’t wait for Shen Shuangyi to return, nor did he write a farewell letter. He took Qi Ye out into the city.

The capital was plastered with wanted posters for Qi Ye. On the palace walls, next to Huangfu Ying’s notice for Qi Ye, Shen Qingzhuo saw a member of the Shen family posting his own portrait right alongside Qi Ye’s.

Shen Qingzhuo: “…”

It seemed his grandfather was indeed furious with him. However, the defensive robes were effective, and with the Disguise Pills, he doubted even the Old Master could recognize him easily.

He also noticed wedding invitations being distributed and red lanterns hanging everywhere. He learned that Huangfu Ying was getting engaged to Qi Anning. Shen Qingzhuo felt this was good; it meant Huangfu Ying wouldn’t pester him anymore.

Because he had already gone out three days prior to compensate and comfort the families of the innocent victims, there were few voices cursing him on the streets now. As they passed Yue Shang Shao, Shen Qingzhuo remembered and pulled out the two contracts Qi Ye had given him.

“You said you bought this teahouse for me. What happened?”

Qi Ye didn’t intend to hide anything. “I thought it was beautiful, so I wanted to give it to you. I bought it with money I earned myself.”

Shen Qingzhuo was incredulous. “You earned it yourself? How?”

Qi Ye’s voice faltered slightly, losing its earlier confidence. “It was… while Huangfu Ying was trying to catch me. I hid in the palace and used the imperial alchemy room to refine thirty-three pills. I exchanged them for 330,000 Profound Stones!”

Hearing that he bought the ninety-nine-story Yue Shang Shao for 330,000 stones, Shen Qingzhuo’s lip couldn’t help but twitch. He didn’t know how Qi Ye had “negotiated” with the former owner, but while 330,000 stones was a lot, such a building would normally cost at least 3.3 million. Of course, if Shen Qingzhuo knew the quality of those pills, he would realize that Qi Ye could have traded the pills directly; the former owner likely would have been much happier delighted, even.

But Shen Qingzhuo caught the main point, something he never knew before: “You can refine pills?”

Qi Ye nodded bashfully. “A… a little.”

Shen Qingzhuo smiled. “Good. Show me your refining next time.”

Qi Ye nodded happily, then hesitated. “I don’t have a furnace. I can’t refine without one.”

Shen Qingzhuo was about to say “no problem, leave it to me,” then remembered he was currently penniless and stopped mid-sentence. He touched the green jade hairpin on his head. Inside his Spatial Ring was a circular white jade pendant, about half a palm wide, which Shen Shuangyi had once given to the original host. It was his last valuable possession. He said, “There will be one.”

Shen Qingzhuo didn’t know why, but despite the fact that he had agreed to the relationship in a muddled state, he now had the illusion that they were truly, seriously dating.

Actually, dating Qi Ye wasn’t impossible. He just couldn’t figure out if he actually had “those” feelings for the boy. And what would happen when his mission was over and he had to leave? Could he choose to stay?

But right now, Qi Ye had been so deeply hurt by the people of the continent both physically and psychologically. If he rejected Qi Ye, the boy might think Shen Qingzhuo was like everyone else and lose all faith in humanity; then his life would be even harder. Regardless of how the world viewed Qi Ye, Shen Qingzhuo felt he should make the boy believe that there was still kindness in the world.

People feared and loathed Qi Ye because of a deep-seated, generational terror of the demon race they were simply afraid of being hurt themselves.

The two soon passed Yue Shang Shao. While the deed was in his hand, now was not the time to enter, but at least no one knew who the new owner was.

Shen Qingzhuo smiled softly. “I’ll accept the teahouse you gave me for now. When the time is right, we’ll go in and play together.”

Qi Ye walked beside him, his face bright with a happy nod. “Mm!”

Emperor Huangfu Chicheng had recently returned from his travels. On the street, several guards carried his sedan chair, followed by two rows of eunuchs. The Emperor was full of smiles, greeting the citizens as he passed. It must be said that as an Emperor, Huangfu Chicheng was very close to his people. However, his ability to be so carefree was due to having a crown prince like Huangfu Ying, who managed state affairs meticulously.

Upon his return, Huangfu Chicheng heard that his prince was to marry the Qi family’s foster son. Although only as a side consort, he was surprised. He didn’t usually meddle in his descendants’ marriages, but he didn’t favor this match; in his heart, the ideal crown princess was Shen Qingzhuo. After catching up on the events during his absence and seeing the wanted posters for the two at the city gate, the Emperor leaned his head on his hand in thought, feeling as though the world was about to change.

But when his hand dropped and he looked up again, the amiable Emperor’s eyes crinkled with a smile, as if the previous events were just a minor incident. “Everyone has worked hard while I was away. Pass my command: a grand banquet tonight to reward all palace staff!”

Shen Qingzhuo took Qi Ye through half of Yun City, seeing the current state of most of its people. Qi Ye didn’t feel tired, but he didn’t like any of it. He wanted to go back to a place with no one else just him and Shen Qingzhuo for the rest of their lives. For example, he really liked the Pear Blossom Island that Shen Qingzhuo had called their home.

Shen Qingzhuo had considered this too. If the world wouldn’t accept Qi Ye, he would take him away to a secluded place where no one could find them to hurt him.

But he felt that doing so was wrong. Qi Ye was still so young; he should have a full life, not one spent entirely hiding from malice. Even though Shen Qingzhuo had failed once before, he still wanted to try.

He wanted to lead Qi Ye out of this shadow of hatred.

Having seen Yun City, they traveled beyond its borders. Yun City was the capital and the wealthiest city; the outside was different. While some lived in luxury, there were those outside the city who didn’t have enough to eat.

Shen Qingzhuo felt a pang of sorrow seeing the homeless people huddled by the roadside walls, their clothes tattered and their hair matted. At a bun shop ahead, an old man took advantage of the owner’s distraction to snatch a bun from a steamer with a dark, grimy hand. Thinking he hadn’t been seen, he turned to run.

But before he could even tuck the bun into his robes, he was caught by the owner. Two employees grabbed his arms and took the bun back.

The owner cursed, “You beggar, don’t let me catch you again, or you’ll get what’s coming to you!”

After the scolding, the owner noticed Shen Qingzhuo watching him and offered a bashful smile. “Young master, would you like to buy some buns? Pardon the scene; it’s not that I don’t want to help, but there are simply too many beggars in Lan City they outnumber the regular citizens. If I give him a bun today, more will come for one. This is a small business… I can’t afford the loss!”

The owner sounded quite bitter. In the beginning, he used to purposefully make extra buns to give to the hungry, but as the number of homeless grew, in just two months he had lost all the savings from the past few years. He had no choice; he had a family to support and had to survive.

The owner looked at the bun-thief with annoyance. “Forget it. It’s dirty now and can’t be sold anyway. Take it and eat, just don’t let me see you again!”