Male Lead, Please Don’t Covet the Mob Character Cannon Fodder (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 9

Night fell.

This was already the third day the merchant caravan had been camping in the wild, and it was still several days’ journey to the next relay station.

Counting today, Song Qingshi had not bathed for three days. Sweat flowed constantly, yet he could only wipe himself down with water. He felt as if he were turning into a stinking piece of salted vegetable.

“Young Master Song Qingshi, do you have no appetite? You have been eating less and less lately.” Gu Jiuli frowned as he looked at the steamed bun in Song Qingshi’s hand, which had only been nibbled slightly.

Song Qingshi shook his head. “It is too hot to eat. I feel like I am being pickled in my own scent. I wonder when I will be able to take a bath.”

Gu Jiuli said: “Eat a little more. I heard them say there is a small river not far from here. I will take you there later.”

“Really?” Song Qingshi stood up instantly and grabbed Gu Jiuli’s sleeve. “Take me there quickly. I truly feel miserable all over right now.”

“I am going too, I am going too,” Song Qingyu interrupted.

“You cannot go. Children should not take cold baths. If a cold enters your body and you miss the chance to enter the academy, you will have nowhere to cry,” Song Qingshi teased him.

“Oh, then I will not go after all,” Song Qingyu said dispiritedly.

Gu Jiuli took Song Qingshi’s hand and led him into the woods. Less than a mile from their camp, there was a waist-deep stream.

Submerging his entire body in the icy water, Song Qingshi felt as if he had come back to life, letting out an involuntary sigh of contentment.

“Dahei, do you want to wash together?” He scooped up a handful of water and poured it over himself, asking Gu Jiuli who was standing on the bank.

Gu Jiuli watched the person glowing under the moonlight, his gaze following the water droplets all the way down. Upon hearing Song Qingshi’s invitation, he looked up and closed his eyes. His sexy Adam’s apple bobbed violently. Then, he turned his back. “No need, Young Master. The water is cold at night; do not wash for too long.”

Song Qingshi finally scrubbed away the sour smell of the past few days. He did not even spare his hair, washing it thoroughly.

Holding his dripping long hair, Song Qingshi walked onto the bank. “Dahei, I am finished. Let us head back.”

“Alright.” Gu Jiuli turned to pick up the dirty clothes on the ground, took Song Qingshi’s hand, and the two strolled back slowly.

Listening to cicadas on a summer night was supposed to be romantic, but too many cicadas resulted in nothing but noise. Song Qingshi felt as if ten thousand people were screaming in his ears, making it impossible to find peace.

“Sss!” A tugging sensation on his head made Song Qingshi stop. He reached out and found that a strand of his hair was snagged on a branch. “Dahei, wait for me. My hair is caught.”

As he spoke, he pulled his hand away from Gu Jiuli’s and used both hands to untangle the hair. However, because he could not see, the more he tried to untangle it, the messier it became, until it was completely knotted.

Gu Jiuli stopped his frantic hands. “Young Master, let me help you.”

Lin Yingying had gone looking for Dahei and learned he had gone to the nearby river to bathe. Harboring the expectation of perhaps seeing a beautiful man emerging from the water, she found an opportunity to slip into the woods. Before she had gone far, she saw a familiar figure ahead.

Her eyes lit up, and she reached out to say hello. But as she moved forward a couple more steps, she noticed there was another person in front of Dahei. That person was none other than Dahei’s master, Song Qingshi.

The two were acting intimately at the moment. Dahei held Song Qingshi in his arms from behind. Song Qingshi looked up and was saying something to Dahei, while Dahei had a gentle expression, completely unlike the coldness he showed her.

No way! An absurd thought suddenly flashed through Lin Yingying’s mind. She knew Dahei was very good to his young master, but this was far too much.

Seeing the two separate, Lin Yingying bit her lip and ultimately decided not to go up and say hello. Instead, she turned and left.

The moment she departed, Dahei, who was untangling Song Qingshi’s hair, cast a glance toward the direction where she had been standing.

“Dahei, are we not leaving?” Song Qingshi asked.

“Let us go.” Gu Jiuli took Song Qingshi’s hand again, and the two returned to the carriage.

By the time they returned, Song Qingyu was already asleep. Song Qingshi sat by the carriage window to let his hair blow in the wind. A dry cloth was suddenly placed on his head, and familiar large hands moved gently over his scalp.

Song Qingshi said: “Dahei, there is no need to wipe it. It will be dry in a moment.”

“Be careful of catching a cold.”

After that day, Song Qingyu noticed that Lin Yingying, who used to hover around Dahei from time to time, never came looking for him again. She would even take a detour when she saw them. He quietly asked Gu Jiuli: “Dahei, what did you do to Miss Lin? Why does she act like she has seen the plague when she sees us?”

Gu Jiuli glanced at him. “Who knows. Perhaps she no longer wishes to waste time on me.”

“Miss Lin does not seem like someone who gives up halfway,” Song Qingyu muttered.

After traveling with the merchant caravan for over two months, Song Qingshi and the others finally arrived at the capital of Great Qi, Yancheng. Along the way, aside from his backside suffering a bit, they had not encountered any major issues.

They bid farewell to the merchant caravan at the city gate.

Song Qingyu looked at the tall buildings and the bustling crowds all around. He felt a bit timid for a moment; it was the first time he had seen so many people. “Brother, where are we going now?”

Song Qingshi sensed Song Qingyu’s unease and took his hand. “We will find an inn to settle down first. I will send you to the academy tomorrow.”

Song Qingyu said: “Alright.”

The three found a relatively cheap inn for forty copper coins a night.

The plan was good, but changes came even faster.

When Song Qingshi woke up the next morning, he felt as if several mountains were weighing him down. His limbs were weak, and the air he breathed out from his nose carried a scorching temperature.

Having traveled such a long distance, the moment he relaxed, he fell ill.

He took his own pulse. It was a case of cold entering the body due to exhaustion and deficiency of vital energy.

“Young Master Song Qingshi, take your medicine.” Gu Jiuli helped Song Qingshi up, fed the medicine into his mouth, and held a water cup to his lips.

Song Qingshi took a few sips from his hand and said weakly: “Dahei, I must trouble you to take Song Qingyu to the academy for registration today. I really, cough, cough.”

Gu Jiuli said: “Alright, I will take him. You get some rest.”

Song Qingyu knelt by Song Qingshi’s bed. “Brother, rest assured. I will study hard to bring glory to our Song family name. You focus on recovering and get well soon.”

Song Qingshi touched Song Qingyu’s hair. “Do not worry. Your brother is a physician himself.”

Song Qingyu said: “Mhm! Brother is the best!”

“Let us go,” Gu Jiuli said as he picked up Song Qingyu’s things.

With the creak of the door closing, the room instantly fell silent. Song Qingshi could only hear his own light and rapid breathing. His consciousness grew blurred, and he eventually fell into a deep sleep.

On the other side, after Gu Jiuli sent Song Qingyu into the academy, he discovered someone was following him on his way back. He led the person into a deserted alley, preparing for a counter-kill. However, before he could act, the person saw his face and knelt before him with a thud.

“General, it truly is you! I knew you were not dead! Li Yang, Captain of the First Guard of the General’s Mansion, pays his respects to the General.”

By the time Song Qingshi woke up, it was already the following day. His symptoms had lessened significantly, and he finally had the strength to get out of bed.

However, it seemed he was still alone in the room. He called out “Dahei” twice, but no one answered.

Where was the male lead?

Song Qingshi used his bamboo staff to head downstairs and ask the proprietress. To his surprise, she said the male lead had gone out yesterday and had not returned since.

Could something have happened to him?

Song Qingshi asked: “886, the male lead should not be in any life-threatening danger, right?”

886: “Relax. Even if something happens to you, nothing will happen to him.”

Song Qingshi sighed and walked out of the inn, intending to look for him. But standing at the door and listening to the noisy crowds outside, he hesitated.

He was a stranger in Yancheng. Where could he go to find someone? Perhaps it was better to wait at the inn?

“Is this young master visiting Yancheng for the first time? Do you need a guide? It only costs ten copper coins a day.” A fawning male voice approached Song Qingshi.

Hearing this, Song Qingshi’s footsteps toward the inn paused. Perhaps he could…

“Could I trouble you to take me to the Qiu Zhi Academy?” He would go find Song Qingyu and ask first.

“Of course! Rest assured, Young Master. I am a native of Yancheng. I could walk to the Qiu Zhi Academy with my eyes closed.” Zhang Daniu looked at the innocent-looking young master before him, a trace of lust flashing in his eyes.

He had noticed a handsome young master staying at this inn a couple of days ago, but at that time, he was accompanied by a tall companion who looked difficult to provoke.

It was not in vain that he had crouched outside this inn for three days. He had finally waited for the moment this young master was alone.

Zhang Daniu stared at the lower half of Song Qingshi’s exposed face. Based on his years of experience, this was definitely top-quality goods.

Song Qingshi followed Zhang Daniu. After walking for a while, he noticed the surroundings were becoming quieter and quieter. Realizing something was wrong, Song Qingshi stopped and slowly backed away.

“Mmph.” Unexpectedly, there was someone behind him as well. A handkerchief covered his nose and mouth. He smelled the scent of an anesthetic, and his consciousness quickly sank into silence.

Shortly after Song Qingshi was taken away, an understated but luxurious carriage stopped in front of the inn.

“General, the proprietress said that the young master staying in Room Three of the Earth character left the inn this morning and has not returned since,” Li Yang reported, standing by the carriage window.

Hearing this, Gu Jiuli crushed the wine cup in his hand and said through gritted teeth: “Song, Qing, Shi! You are truly something!”

That was right. After Gu Jiuli followed Li Yang back to the General’s Mansion that day, he had remembered everything with the help of the mansion’s physician.

The thought that he had been treated like a servant during this time, and that he had actually enjoyed it, made him want to go back and kill his former self. He had actually been played for a fool by a small physician from a dilapidated village.

Furthermore, it was far too coincidental that he had been saved by him after the assassination. If the mansion’s physician had not stated that his memory loss was indeed due to a head injury, he would have suspected that Song Qingshi had tampered with his memory as well.

More importantly, he had actually named him Dahei! To think he had given the most valiant general of Great Qi a name fit for a dog!

He had not expected that when he came to catch him as soon as he woke up, the man would have already run away. To provoke him and then try to run, could you truly escape?

“Pass down my order. If dead, I want to see the body; if alive, I want to see the person!” Gu Jiuli commanded.

Li Yang: “Yes.”

Three days later.

The General’s Mansion.

Gu Jiuli sat in the courtyard playing a game of Go against himself. Li Yang stepped forward with a look of shame to report: “General, your subordinate is incompetent. That Master Song seems to have vanished into thin air. There is no news at all.”

Hearing this, Gu Jiuli’s eyes darkened. “It seems there is a big fish behind him.”

Li Yang speculated: “Does the General mean that he is related to those who assassinated you?”

“Hmph, not necessarily. Perhaps he is a third party waiting to profit.” Gu Jiuli thought of Song Qingyu, who was at the Qiu Zhi Academy. “You can send people to wait at the entrance of the Qiu Zhi Academy. His own brother is inside; there will eventually be a slip-up.”

“Yes, General.”

“Jiuli! It has truly been a long time!” A hearty voice reached Gu Jiuli’s ears from a distance. He looked toward the familiar voice and saw his close friend Ma Qilin, the grandson of Elder Ma of the court and a profligate dandy.

Gu Jiuli waved his hand for Li Yang to leave and then teased: “Why do you have time to look for me today? Are you not going to your Han Xiang Pavilion or Spring Breeze House?”

Ma Qilin shook the folding fan in his hand. “Is it not because I heard my good brother has returned to the capital? I came to see you.” He strolled into the courtyard and sat opposite Gu Jiuli. “I heard you were injured? Is it serious?”

Gu Jiuli: “It is fine. I am mostly recovered.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Ma Qilin looked Gu Jiuli up and down, saying in surprise: “Jiuli, why do you look like someone who has suffered a romantic setback? Tell me the truth, what exactly did you do during the months you were missing?” He cast a playful look. “You were not entangled by some beautiful lady, were you?”

Support Male Lead, Please Don’t Covet the Mob Character Cannon Fodder (Quick Transmigration)