[Quick Transmigration] Black Lotus Upgrade System - Chapter 4

Yu Xingliang was carried comfortably by Muxing, and simply leaned his head against Muxing’s shoulder. “I’ve noticed that the village head is afraid of you.”

Muxing paused in his steps and said in a low voice, “Not at all.”

“It’s not just the village head; the other villagers are also afraid of you.” Yu Xingliang felt fortunate to have found such a strong backer. “I didn’t even want to live anymore, but fortunately, I met you.”

A flash of complicated emotion crossed Muxing’s eyes. “You have to live.”

Yu Xingliang raised an eyebrow. “You can’t bear to see me die, can you?”

Muxing didn’t reply and picked up his pace slightly.

Yu Xingliang chuckled lightly, convinced that Muxing was just feeling shy.

He continued speaking on his own: “You really can’t bear for me to die. Muxing, you know, when I was called in for a talk by the village head earlier, the way you looked when you came in was so cool. I’m not just praising your face, but that kind of worry for me, making me feel like I mattered so much to you, made me feel so warm. At that moment, I felt like someone in this world still loved me.”

With that, Yu Xingliang let out a yawn. Although nothing much had been accomplished today, he felt exhausted after a full day, and as soon as he closed his eyes, he fell fast asleep.

Having returned to his dwelling in Langya Village, Muxing gently placed Zheng Lele down. Looking at that defenseless sleeping face, Muxing clenched his fists tightly, seemingly torn over something.

“This is bad! Xiaotao was snatched away by Fanshenggang during her external procurement run!” A villager’s shout suddenly came from outside the window, causing Muxing to frown as he recognized the voice of Uncle Dong from logistics.

Muxing gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on Yu Xingliang shifting repeatedly before he finally, with a look of determination, relaxed his clenched fists.

Woken up by the commotion, Yu Xingliang eagerly wanted to help out upon hearing that a child had gone missing in the village.

Muxing did not stop him, but quietly followed behind Yu Xingliang.

The kitchen, which normally would have been bustling with cooking smoke by now, was filled only with Aunt Tao’s sorrowful wails.

Word had it that Aunt Tao was Xiaotao’s adoptive mother. Xiaotao’s parents had vanished without a trace many years ago, and Aunt Tao had raised Xiaotao through all the hardships.

“I should have gone for the procurement myself!” Aunt Tao cried heartbrokenly, filled with remorse in every word. “Even though I hurt my foot on the cutting board yesterday, I can still walk! I shouldn’t have let Xiaotao go in my place! She’s only fourteen years old!”

Uncle Dong began slapping his own face, each blow heavier than the last. Seeing this, the surrounding villagers quickly stepped forward to stop him: “Uncle, this isn’t your fault!”

Tears streamed down Uncle Dong’s face as well. “It’s because I’m useless. Xiaotao was right in front of my eyes, and yet I couldn’t save her!”

At first, Yu Xingliang thought a child had simply wandered off, but hearing this made him realize she had been abducted.

“What kind of person dares to openly snatch a child in broad daylight?” Yu Xingliang said with righteous indignation.

“You! It’s your fault!” The moment Aunt Tao caught sight of Yu Xingliang, all her anger found an outlet.

Yu Xingliang wore an innocent expression. “Me? What did I do? I just woke up.”

Struggling to her feet and pushing away the villagers who tried to support her, Aunt Tao limped quickly toward Yu Xingliang.

Seeing that Aunt Tao had trouble walking, Yu Xingliang kindly stepped forward to help, but never expected Aunt Tao to grab him mercilessly by the collar and curse:

“Jinx!”

Yu Xingliang’s heart felt as though it had been violently clutched. During his parents’ funeral, his relatives and friends had berated him with the exact same venom.

Aunt Tao continued hurling harsh insults, and in a daze, her face merged with that of his dearest aunt.

On the day of the funeral, the sun beat down mercilessly, and Yu Xingliang was pushed to the ground by his aunt while not a single person stepped forward to pull him up.

Looking down at him from above, his aunt wore an expression of disgust that was even more glaring than the scorching sun.

“You really are the disgrace of the family,” his aunt said coldly before turning away without a shred of lingering attachment.

Yu Xingliang reached out desperately, wanting to grab the hem of his aunt’s skirt, but the nurse hired by Fan Zixi pinned him down forcefully, rendering him completely immobile.

“Jinx, what an absolute jinx!”

“I am not a jinx! I’m not, I’m not!” Summoning strength from unknown sources, Yu Xingliang suddenly pushed Aunt Tao away, startling even himself.

Muxing caught him steadily from behind as he stumbled, then cast a slightly dissatisfied look toward Aunt Tao.

Startled, Aunt Tao immediately reined in her emotions.

Regaining his composure somewhat, Yu Xingliang looked apologetically at Aunt Tao. “I didn’t mean to. Just now, I…”

Uncle Dong stopped crying and put on a facade of reason, trying to comfort Aunt Tao: “Even though Zheng Lele is Fanshenggang’s prospective concubine, he hasn’t crossed the threshold yet, so he’s not family. We can’t take our anger out on Zheng Lele.”

At this, Yu Xingliang finally understood: “Fanshenggang is the one who took her.”

Aunt Tao glared fiercely at Yu Xingliang. “If you hadn’t run away, why would Fanshenggang have taken my Xiaotao?”

“Fanshenggang snatched Xiaotao…” Thinking of Fanshenggang’s demonic, womanizing demeanor, Yu Xingliang sharply inhaled a breath. “Then Xiaotao must be in grave danger right now!”

“Aunt Tao, I understand how you feel right now,” Muxing said calmly, “but this matter has nothing to do with Lele. Even if Lele hadn’t run away, Fanshenggang would still forcefully abduct any young girl of Xiaotao’s age whom he encountered. Xiaotao is a victim, and Lele is a victim too. From beginning to end, the only one at fault is Fanshenggang.”

Yu Xingliang turned his head to look at Muxing with deep gratitude. Although Muxing hid his handsome features behind his hair, at this moment, he looked thoroughly dashing in Yu Xingliang’s eyes!

“The village head is here!” a villager shouted.

Yu Xingliang looked over and saw that the village head also wore an anxious expression.

“Village head!” Seeing the village head arrive, Aunt Tao burst into tears anew. “Please figure something out and save Xiaotao!”

Looking troubled, the village head sighed. “We don’t even know where Xiaotao was taken. Ah, how are we supposed to save anyone?”

Uncle Dong let out a long sigh and said, “If only someone could sneak into the general’s estate to gather intelligence.”

The village head seemed to glance at Yu Xingliang before sighing again. “Where can we find a suitable person…”

Silence settled over the group.

Yu Xingliang coughed a few times and raised his hand like an obedient student. “Doesn’t Fanshenggang want to marry me? I can go fish for information, and I’ll definitely be able to find Xiaotao.”

“You?” The village head’s tone sounded somewhat pleasantly surprised, but his words carried regret. “Will you even be able to pull it off?”

Yu Xingliang protested, unconvinced: “Why wouldn’t I be able to? Who here is more suitable than me?”

Uncle Dong looked visibly pleased, yet his words were discouraging: “No, no, it’s too dangerous. If you go and end up not being able to come back, what on earth will we do?”

Yu Xingliang let out a hiss. “Wait, am I not the only one who can actually go right now?”

Muxing, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke up: “Lele, are you truly willing to go?”

Thinking Muxing was worried about him, Yu Xingliang smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll adapt to the situation. I’ll just find out where Xiaotao is, and I might not even have to cross paths with that Fanshenggang guy.”

“I will do my best to protect you,” Muxing said softly.

Yu Xingliang choked back a response. He had expected Muxing to try every possible way to talk him out of taking such a risk, not to agree so readily to let him go gather information from Fanshenggang.

Having prepared a whole basket of arguments, Yu Xingliang could only laugh awkwardly. “Great.”

Uncle Dong exchanged a glance with the village head, and Uncle Dong hastily chimed in, “This won’t do, it’s too dangerous! Fanshenggang already holds a grudge against Zheng Lele…”

“That’s enough!” Muxing suddenly snapped with anger.

Everyone present, including Yu Xingliang, was stunned.

Taking a breath, Muxing seemed to have something heavy on his mind. “The intelligence gathering plan needs to be reviewed again and made more thorough to ensure nothing goes wrong.”

The village head nodded, and Uncle Dong agreed: “Alright.”

With a sorrowful expression, Muxing reached out to take Yu Xingliang’s hand. “Do you want to eat fish?”

“Huh?” Yu Xingliang blinked. “Right now?”

Ignoring everyone else around them and focusing solely on Yu Xingliang, Muxing said, “It’s already past lunchtime, you must be hungry.”

Yu Xingliang rubbed his stomach and replied sheepishly, “I am a bit hungry, actually.”

“Then let’s go to the beach and grill some fish.”

“Huh?” Yu Xingliang’s eyes widened like brass bells. He looked at the village head and the other villagers, then offered an awkward laugh. “I’m not allowed to leave the village freely, am I?”

“Special permission granted for today,” the village head waved a hand. “Aunt Tao is in no mood to cook lunch today, so everyone can find their own food to tide themselves over.”

“Let’s go.” Without sparing even a shred of attention for the village head, Muxing pulled Yu Xingliang straight toward the village entrance.

Uncle Dong approached the village head and asked, “Village head, if we just let the yellow-haired brat go like this, won’t there be…”

The village head shook his head. “No. The yellow-haired brat is even more eager to overthrow Fanshenggang than we are.”

Uncle Dong nodded and went off to urge Aunt Tao to hurry up and prepare lunch.

Down by the shore, Yu Xingliang was in high spirits and began running around freely.

“Muxing, this feels like what being alive is all about!” Yu Xingliang said excitedly. “You know, I’ve loved watching superhero movies since I was a kid, and right now I feel just like a hero about to step onto the stage.”

Muxing followed closely behind Yu Xingliang. Seeing him come to a halt, Muxing slowly rolled up his trouser legs, preparing to wade into the sea to catch fish.

“You’re just going to catch fish with your bare hands?” Yu Xingliang found it amusing. “Can you actually catch any?”

Muxing turned to look at Yu Xingliang, but immediately averted his gaze, as if looking at him for a second longer would cause him to be scorched by Yu Xingliang’s radiant smile.

“I can catch them.” With that, Muxing removed his outer robe and stepped into the water. With a swift scoop amid a splash, he actually managed to haul up a large fish.

“Whoa!” Yu Xingliang couldn’t help exclaiming. “Muxing, are you a genius or what?”

Muxing curved the corners of his mouth faintly, though he still looked weighed down by heavy thoughts.

The fish was delicious, tasting just as wonderful as it had on the day they first met.

“Muxing.” Yu Xingliang swallowed a bite of fish meat and tilted his head to look at him.

“What is it?”

“Are you really worried about me?”

Muxing lowered his gaze. “Do I look very worried about you?”

“Yeah,” Yu Xingliang said with a hint of endearment. “Ever since I said I would go to Fanshenggang’s place to gather information, you’ve looked so gloomy.”

Muxing paused, then raised his head with a smile as he patted Yu Xingliang on the head. “Maybe you’re just acting too brave. The current you makes me feel a bit unfamiliar.”

Hearing that, Yu Xingliang quickly changed the subject. “Ahaha, is that so? You know, this fish really is exceptionally good.”

Withdrawing his hand and knitting his brows slightly, Muxing muttered under his breath, “I actually wish you were still your old self.”

Buried in devouring his fish, Yu Xingliang asked through a mouthful, “What did you say? Speak up, I didn’t catch that.”

Muxing shook his head and gave a faint, detached smile. “Nothing at all.”