[Quick Transmigration] Black Lotus Upgrade System - Chapter 8

The weather was gradually turning cooler, and the sun had not been seen for several days in a row.

With his newly cropped short hair, Yu Xingliang sprawled across the desk, playing idly with the fabric sash of his grandfather-style robe.

This robe was a new garment Fanshenggang had bought for him. Counting this one, Yu Xingliang finally owned ten sets of men’s clothing in this world.

Two months had already passed since Muxing’s departure. Yu Xingliang had waited and waited, but there was still no news from him.

Yet he firmly believed that Muxing was definitely figuring out a way to take him away right now.

After all, Muxing had managed to keep his cool for so long even while rescuing Chu Muyao; he was probably still plotting and planning behind the scenes.

“Doctor Yu!” Juan Gu walked over cheerfully carrying a box of pastries, calling out to Yu Xingliang through the window: “The eldest young miss’s mood is stabilizing more and more. These are the pastries she made for you!”

Yu Xingliang stood up, leaned his upper body out of the window, and accepted the pastries Juan Gu delivered.

“Thank you for running another errand, Juan Gu.”

Juan Gu smiled warmly, looking like a completely different person compared to her former self: “It is no trouble at all. Seeing the eldest young miss’s condition getting better and better, I am truly happy from the bottom of my heart.”

Yu Xingliang smiled, picked up a piece of pastry, and asked Juan Gu: “Have you tried any? How about having a piece?”

“Oh, no need,” Juan Gu said. “These were specially made for you by the eldest young miss. How could a servant like me eat them!”

Yu Xingliang let out a tsk: “Juan Gu, you’re at it again. How many times do I have to tell you, everyone is equal. Around me, there’s no distinction between ‘superiors’ and ‘inferiors.’ Here, catch.”

Yu Xingliang tossed a piece of pastry to Juan Gu, who immediately stepped forward and caught it.

Seeing this, Yu Xingliang flashed a satisfied smile.

“Thank you, Doctor Yu.” Juan Gu’s eyes were filled with gratitude.

Yu Xingliang shook his head nonchalantly: “Small matter, no need to thank me.”

Juan Gu remarked: “To be honest, I really thought you were Zheng Lele from the tailor’s family back then.”

Yu Xingliang, who was in the middle of feeding himself a bite of pastry, paused mid-action.

“It was mainly because you looked so much like Zheng Lele, which is why I acted that way. Please don’t take any of my previous offenses to heart.” Juan Gu looked apologetic, then smiled and added: “If you ask me, you and that effeminate Zheng Lele are truly different. You are full of vigor and vitality, you’re clearly two completely different people!”

Yu Xingliang curved the corners of his lips into a faint smile as his thoughts drifted back to two months ago.

“They’re gone.” Fanshenggang dismissed all the guards and gently placed two pistols on the table.

Mimicking Bruce Lee’s signature posture, Yu Xingliang provoked him with a pained expression: “What, you want to have a mano-a-mano fight with me? Huh? Watch me show you a move. Ha!”

Yu Xingliang failed his somersault and awkwardly landed on his knees.

Fanshenggang watched with a smile, much like a father looking at his mischievous, unworldly son.

Yu Xingliang offered an awkward laugh: “Haven’t practiced in a while, got a bit rusty. I used to be able to do eight of those in one breath!”

Fanshenggang cupped his chin in his hand: “So, that’s why you are my eighth concubine.”

“Yueh!” Yu Xingliang pulled a face of utter disgust: “That dad joke wasn’t funny! In fact, it was utterly repulsive!”

“I won’t tease you anymore.” Fanshenggang turned serious: “Is your real name actually Yu Xingliang?”

Instantly, Yu Xingliang grew alert: How on earth does this dirty old pervert know my real name?

“Chu Muyao said so just now. You told her your name was Yu Xingliang.”

Noticing Yu Xingliang’s confusion, Fanshenggang generously offered an explanation.

“I… I lied to her, my name is Zheng Lele.” Yu Xingliang stubbornly stuck to his story.

“Heh.” Fanshenggang offered a disdainful chuckle: “I think you’re just trying to fool me.”

Yu Xingliang clenched his fists: I really, really want to punch this dirty old pervert.

“You people, did you arrive in this body by random chance?” Fanshenggang asked. “After you leave, will you return to this world from some other body?”

Yu Xingliang froze, staring in disbelief at Fanshenggang, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Fanshenggang managed a bitter smile: “Alright, there are only the two of us here. I know you aren’t Zheng Lele, you don’t need to keep hiding it from me.”

“You…” Yu Xingliang blinked and asked, “How did you figure it out?”

Fanshenggang lifted his chin to stare at the ceiling, as if sinking into some memory: “Because… my wife, she was in the exact same situation as you.”

Yu Xingliang gasped in shock: “Really? Is the wife you’re talking about Xiaotao’s biological mother?”

Fanshenggang pulled his gaze away from the ceiling and nodded: “Yes.”

Speaking of his wife, a genuine smile appeared on Fanshenggang’s face: “Her body’s original owner and I were betrothed since childhood, but the original owner was gloomy from a young age and didn’t like me. I even chose to call off the engagement.”

Yu Xingliang was very surprised: “A big pervert like you would actually turn down a girl?”

The smile on Fanshenggang’s lips grew deeper: “I am a pervert, but I only feel that way about my wife, Jiang Qi.”

Clearly unconvinced, Yu Xingliang retorted: “You were about to marry your eighth concubine!”

A trace of gentle sorrow tinged Fanshenggang’s smile: “Aside from the second concubine, all the other concubines bore some degree of resemblance to my wife.”

“Eww.” Yu Xingliang’s eyes were filled with suspicion.

Fanshenggang shot Yu Xingliang a fierce glare: “Can you just listen to me narrate this whole story.”

With a perfunctory smile, Yu Xingliang said: “Please go ahead.”

“After I proposed calling off the engagement, Jiang Qi’s soul arrived here.” Fanshenggang sank into pleasant memories once more: “Back then, I could be considered a promising young man, but Jiang Qi didn’t put me in her eyes at all, completely unlike the original owner of her body. She even proposed that she was the one calling off the engagement first.”

“A woman like that piqued your interest,” Yu Xingliang summarized in a single sentence.

Fanshenggang gave a bashful smile: “Yeah. After she caught my attention, the situation flipped: she didn’t want to marry me, but I wanted to marry her.”

“And then you had Xiaotao.” Yu Xingliang chuckled: “Happy ending, a very cliché plot.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. We later happily had Ruyi, whom you call Xiaotao.”

Analyzing the plot according to his own guesses, Yu Xingliang said: “Then your true nature showed, and you insisted on forcefully snatching Chu Muyao as your second concubine, plus losing Xiaotao, uh… your Ruyi, so your wife abandoned you and chose suicide!”

“Utter nonsense!” Disgust flashed across Fanshenggang’s eyes: “I never intended to take Chu Muyao as my wife. Her family schemed to cozy up to my general’s estate by orchestrating a situation where Chu Muyao and I shared a bed. I fell into their trap and was forced to marry Chu Muyao.”

Yu Xingliang’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.

“Then… if you were forced to marry Chu Muyao, why did you imprison her by your side and refuse to set her free?”

At this, anger crept into Fanshenggang’s voice: “It’s because this vicious woman schemed to make Ruyi get lost!”

Extremely surprised, Yu Xingliang asked: “You mean Ruyi ended up in Langya Village because of Chu Muyao?”

“I interrogated Chu Muyao for Ruyi’s whereabouts, but she refused to tell me from start to finish,” Fanshenggang gritted his teeth. “She even poisoned Jiang Qi! She deliberately manufactured misunderstandings to make Jiang Qi lose all faith in me!”

“I… I don’t believe it! As Muxing’s younger sister, how could Chu Muyao be that kind of person!” Pausing for a moment, Yu Xingliang challenged: “What about your other concubines! Especially your fourth concubine, wasn’t he a man driven to death by your torture?”

“External rumors are that absurd?” Shock washed over Fanshenggang’s face: “Sier used to be a trusted guard of mine, but he fell in love with someone he shouldn’t have.”

“Huh?” Yu Xingliang narrowed his eyes: “He fell in love with you?”

“Not at all.” Fanshenggang sighed with regret: “Sier fell in love with another trusted guard of mine. You can probably guess, he fell in love with a man. A good brother-in-arms who fought by his side.”

Suddenly, it clicked for Yu Xingliang: “His brother… didn’t love him back?”

“Correct.”

“Well, that really is a tragic story.” Puzzled, Yu Xingliang asked: “What does that have to do with you taking him as your fourth concubine?”

“Truth couldn’t be kept under wraps forever. Sier’s love letter to his brother was discovered by a mutual friend and made public. Everyone started asking who the male protagonist in Sier’s writing was.”

“Those people just wanted to watch the spectacle!”

“Yes,” Fanshenggang said helplessly. “I failed to manage the discipline properly. Once the love letter incident leaked, it wasn’t just Sier who became the laughingstock, but the person Sier adored as well. Therefore, to protect the person he loved, Sier blurted out my name. Afterward, he came to me and informed me that he was terminally ill and didn’t have many days left.”

“And your solution to end the gossip was to marry him.”

“Yes,” Fanshenggang replied. “At the time, I had designated Jiang Qi’s original owner as the third concubine, so I simply gave Sier the title of fourth concubine.”

Half-convinced, Yu Xingliang asked: “What about the other concubines?”

“Some of the other concubines resembled her when they smiled, while others shared her tone of voice, but I never crossed any lines with any of them.”

Accusingly, Yu Xingliang said: “You married those girls just to make them live as widows!”

“The other concubines married into the general’s estate of their own accord. Surviving in this world is difficult, and they happened to need the protection of the general’s estate.”

After a moment of contemplation, Yu Xingliang asked: “Then what about me? I mean Zheng Lele, Zheng Lele certainly didn’t marry you willingly, and every time you saw me before, you kept calling me Lele like a creep, which almost made me throw up. Most importantly, you even killed tailor Zheng!”

“Didn’t the original owner of your body know?” Fanshenggang said calmly: “Tailor Zheng is the captain of a secret squad hunting down rebels. Tailor Zheng and I staged that act on purpose to trick the rebels planted in my estate. I was just acting for those spies earlier today, too.”

“So…”

“Do you want to see Tailor Zheng?” Fanshenggang swore with absolute righteousness: “In my life, I have never harmed an innocent soul!”

“No, no, no.” Yu Xingliang awkwardly declined with a forced smile: “I’m not interested in this spy games stuff.”

Yu Xingliang sorted things out in his mind: tailoring Zheng’s situation must have been a staged fake death all along.

Just as Yu Xingliang opened his mouth to beg Fanshenggang to let him go find Muxing, a servant rushed in with a report: Xiaotao’s emotions were out of control, and she was attempting self-harm.

Having spent six years with Fan Zixi, who was studying medicine in graduate school, and picking up a counseling psychology certificate while trying to win him over, Yu Xingliang suddenly found himself with a chance to put his skills to use.