I Faked My Death After Choosing the Wrong Protagonist - Chapter 38

Shen Qingzhuo sighed helplessly and tucked the quilt back around Qi Ye.

The bed was a bit small, but it was enough to cover both of them if they stayed close. “Go to sleep. Tomorrow we’ll continue going out to check on the refugees,” Shen Qingzhuo whispered.

Qi Ye didn’t answer. After a while, the youth rolled over again and climbed on top of him. Shen Qingzhuo was forced to open his eyes once more, not quite understanding what Qi Ye was trying to do.

Qi Ye gave a mischievous grin, pressing his face against Shen Qingzhuo’s. He whispered, “Master, do you want to touch my tail?”

As he spoke, he didn’t actually manifest his tail for Shen Qingzhuo to touch. Instead, his hand landed on Shen Qingzhuo’s waist, slowly moving upward toward his collar.

Shen Qingzhuo reached out and pinned his hand down. His face was stern, wondering if he was overthinking things. “Kisses are fine, but nothing else.”

Qi Ye sheepishly withdrew his hand, climbed off him, and lay back down.

Perhaps because he hadn’t rested well for days, Shen Qingzhuo slept exceptionally well that night. However, when he opened his eyes the next morning, he found Qi Ye was gone.

Shen Qingzhuo immediately searched for Qi Ye’s location. He saw the youth in a forest… a place that looked like the Illusory Mist Forest he had visited before.

He worried about what Qi Ye was doing there. The forest was highly deceptive, and today wasn’t a “mist-clearing” day when the entrance could be easily found. Then, in his spiritual mirror, he saw a row of high-level demonic beasts that had been killed behind Qi Ye.

The youth who Shen Qingzhuo remembered usually disdained the cores of such beasts was currently kneeling, meticulously extracting them. His hands were stained with beast blood, and he already held several smooth, rounded cores.

While the shop owner was busy steaming buns, Shen Qingzhuo headed out to the Illusory Mist Forest.

Qi Ye already had seven cores in his hand, all from eighth-rank beasts. He was too lazy to kill lower-level ones and had gone straight to the deepest part of the forest. When Shen Qingzhuo found him, Qi Ye was dealing with a ninth-rank beast the highest rank he had encountered today. The moment he saw it, he became excited.

After finishing this one, selling these cores should bring in enough money!

He had been severely injured a few days ago and hadn’t fully recovered; the struggle with the ninth-rank beast caused his wounds to reopen and bleed. But he was generally indifferent to pain, unless it reached the level of soul-searing agony.

Ignoring the blood, he stored the beast’s remains. These could be processed for food; cultivators often dried the meat to keep in their Spatial Rings as rations for long journeys.

As Qi Ye prepared to leave the depths of the forest, he froze upon seeing Shen Qingzhuo walking toward him. Before the man could get close, he hurriedly checked himself over and used his demonic power to clean the blood from his clothes.

Then, he ran excitedly toward Shen Qingzhuo.

“Master.” He knew what Shen Qingzhuo was going to ask. Before the man could speak, he proactively held out the eight cores seven of the eighth rank and one of the ninth. “If we sell these, we’ll have money.”

Shen Qingzhuo was surprised and felt a surge of joy. In Yun City, everyone wanted Qi Ye dead, yet in this unfamiliar Lan City, the deeply wounded youth was willing to use his own hands to help those who were equally tragic.

He took the cores. “Are you injured?”

Qi Ye shook his head. “No, they can’t hurt me. I… I can be very useful too!”

Shen Qingzhuo stroked the boy’s head. Looking at the youth’s eagerness to prove his worth, he realized he had never thought Qi Ye was useless. On the contrary, Qi Ye’s presence often made him feel comfortable and brightened his outlook.

The Illusory Mist Forest which many cultivators feared and only dared enter when the mist cleared was a mere gimmick to these two; it couldn’t trap them at all.

Once outside, Shen Qingzhuo suggested, “It would be more trouble if your identity is exposed. Let me take these to sell. You go back to the Uncle’s shop and wait for me.” The bun shop owner was warm and welcoming; Shen Qingzhuo had already come to trust him.

But Qi Ye shook his head. “You already left me once yesterday. I want to go with you.”

Shen Qingzhuo hesitated. The fastest place to sell cores was the Underground Market, but it was full of powerful cultivators a place where identities were easily compromised. Qi Ye’s first encounter with a mob was at such a market.

As Shen Qingzhuo worried, Qi Ye transformed into a tiny dragon. Feeling a chill on his arm, Shen Qingzhuo realized Qi Ye had darted into his sleeve. He had no choice but to agree to bring him along.

Inside the Underground Market, Shen Qingzhuo was constantly worried about Qi Ye being discovered. Meanwhile, the little dragon inside his clothes was far from behaved, squirming around and even taking advantage of a moment when Shen Qingzhuo was speaking to… crawl inside from the collar.

If he weren’t standing before the market’s trade official and countless cultivators, Shen Qingzhuo would have pulled him out.

However, Qi Ye was also shocked by Shen Qingzhuo’s bartering skills. Initially, when the market offered 150,000 stones for the eight cores, Qi Ye thought the price was high. To his surprise, Shen Qingzhuo was dissatisfied and pushed the price to 300,000.

Qi Ye felt once again that Shen Qingzhuo was incredible. Thinking back to his thirty-three pills sold for 330,000, he suddenly felt he had been cheated. While eighth-rank cores were precious, the market price for finished eighth-grade pills was far higher.

Profound Stones were only used as currency where cultivators gathered. Since they couldn’t be used in Lan City, Shen Qingzhuo went to a specialized exchange and converted them all into silver. Once they reached a secluded spot, he reached into his robes and grabbed the little dragon that had been playing happily. “Can you come out now?”

The little dragon immediately looked aggrieved. Its tiny dark eyes were large and watery. “I’m sorry, Master. Are you angry…?”

Shen Qingzhuo guessed he might be doing it on purpose, but his heart still softened. He held the little dragon which he had almost dropped back in his hands.

Forget it. I suppose I’ve just met a particularly scheming little dragon in this life.

It was noon by the time they returned.

This time, it was Qi Ye’s idea: they processed the eight massive beast carcasses and distributed them to the people of Lan City. Anyone who wanted meat could come and collect a portion.

Many of the local houses were so dilapidated that they leaked wind and rain; they were uninhabitable, which was why the people huddled in the academies they had paid so much for. Some families had their homes destroyed by Qi Anning’s men a month ago for resisting him.

The people couldn’t survive on farming because the terrain was poor too many mountains and cliffs, and the soil wasn’t suitable for crops. They had tried planting millet on the mountains before, but the harvest was disastrous. While some farming was possible in specific spots, they were defenseless against natural disasters. Six months ago, a summer flood had submerged the entire city for two weeks. They had been trying to save money to repair their homes and stockpile food before winter, as the temperature difference between seasons was extreme and winter was brutal.

The Second Young Master Qi’s sudden “academy project” had essentially pushed many families into a corner. It wasn’t that they were lazy or lacked ambition; they were simply out of options. The people of Lan City were historically hardworking and united, never fearing any hardship.

Many had met Shen Qingzhuo and Qi Ye the previous day. Receiving the meat, everyone was overjoyed. They gathered in groups, each finding a decent pot to stew the meat. Having eaten hot buns the day before and medicine for the sick, they now shared meat and soup.

They didn’t care what kind of animal the meat came from. As they ate, many were moved to tears. Someone asked the pair where they came from and what their names were. They had no way to repay such kindness, but if they survived, they promised to treat the pair with their most precious possessions should they ever return.

The bun shop owner, who had only slept for an hour before getting back to work, brought out all the remaining grain and ingredients in his shop. He pushed a cart full of buns to distribute. Suddenly, he caught the scent of meat soup.

Along the way, every household was drinking soup. Even the homeless in the academies were happily eating. Upon arriving, he heard someone asking for their names. The man walked forward and answered for them: “They are from Yun City. They are Master Shen Qingzhuo and Master Qi Ye.”

Shen Qingzhuo, with his back to him, stiffened at the sound of the man he had trusted. His heart felt as though it had been frozen.

The owner continued forward, pushing his cart and telling his employees to hand out the buns. Although he had repeatedly warned against “beggars stealing buns,” he had actually often given them away for free in the past. This was why the homeless dared to keep “stealing” they knew the boss was kind and wouldn’t truly blame them.

The owner stopped behind Shen Qingzhuo. “Young Master, I’m not mistaken, am I? You are Master Shen Qingzhuo?”

Seeing the man’s cold silence, the owner realized what he was worried about and added hurriedly, “Don’t misunderstand. I know Yun City is searching for you two, but this is Lan City, not Yun City. What happens there is none of our business! Besides, you’ve helped Lan City so much; we could never thank you enough! Everyone, isn’t that right?”

The people eating their buns and drinking their soup showed no fear at the names. On the contrary, they were filled with joy. They shouted in unison, “Yes! What happens in Yun City has nothing to do with us! You gave us food, medicine, and clothes. You are our greatest benefactors after Young Master Jun! Benefactors, please accept our bow!”

One person started, and soon the others put down their soup buns still in their mouths and echoed, “Benefactors, please accept our bow!”