[Quick Transmigration] Black Lotus Upgrade System - Chapter 9

After Juan Gu left with the pastries, Yu Xingliang reverted to his routine of passing the time in boredom.

He was also feeling restless inside, wondering when Muxing would come to find him, or if he would end up waiting as long as Chu Muyao.

Wandering through such random thoughts, yet another day was about to pass.

“You didn’t go down for dinner.” Carrying a thermal flask, Fanshenggang gently knocked on the door.

“Oh!” Yu Xingliang immediately stood up and politely called out: “General Fan.”

Although they didn’t interact every single moment, over the past two months in the general’s estate, Yu Xingliang had discovered that Fanshenggang was not a bad person at all. Even though his temper was rough, he had never done anything out of line and instead wholeheartedly protected his fellow citizens.

The guards and servants in the general’s estate all held him in deep reverence.

It was just that Fanshenggang was proud and lofty, never bothering to explain himself when misunderstood by others, which resulted in the rumors about him outside growing more and more absurd.

“Ruyi had Juan Gu send over pastries today, and I ate a lot of them, so I’m not hungry at all.” Yu Xingliang checked Fanshenggang’s expression, glanced at the thermal flask in his hand, and smiled: “Though I suppose I could manage a little more.”

With a warm and amiable expression, Fanshenggang walked in and placed the thermal flask on the desk: “Guess what we’re having today?”

“I won’t guess,” Yu Xingliang shrugged. “It’s meat anyway, and there’s no way I can guess what kind of meat it is.”

During his days staying in the general’s estate, Yu Xingliang had already tasted snake meat, bear meat, venison, eagle meat.

In short, meats that were rarely tasted on an ordinary day could be found here, and the general estate’s chef was said to be a former imperial chef of the Qing dynasty. Every meat dish was indeed prepared to absolute perfection, completely free of any gamey odor.

“It’s meat that tastes even better than fish.” Unhurriedly, Fanshenggang unscrewed the lid of the thermal flask, releasing a burst of steam accompanied by a rich aroma of garlic.

“What kind of meat is it today?” Yu Xingliang observed closely, but since the meat had already been sliced into pieces, it was genuinely impossible to tell by eye alone.

“Have a taste.” Fanshenggang handed the chopsticks to Yu Xingliang.

Politely accepting them, Yu Xingliang picked up a piece of meat and popped it into his mouth. It melted right on his tongue, rich in savory flavor.

“This is really delicious, what kind of meat is it?” Yu Xingliang asked with curiosity.

Looking at Yu Xingliang, Fanshenggang replied, “It’s fish.”

Yu Xingliang froze in surprise: “Fish?”

“Yes, fish.” Fanshenggang added with deeper meaning: “Not only can you eat delicious fish meat here, but any other meat you haven’t tried yet, as long as you want it, you can eat it here, and you can have something different every single day.”

“I understand.” Yu Xingliang paused and set his chopsticks down: “Perhaps I prefer eating grilled fish instead.”

Fanshenggang frowned: “Grilled fish, I’ll have it made for you tomorrow.”

“No.” Yu Xingliang smiled faintly: “The grilled fish I want to eat is made by a certain someone.”

“Xingliang, I must tell you, the person you trust most likely hasn’t spoken a single true word to you.” Fanshenggang offered a kindly reminder.

“I believe in him,” Yu Xingliang said. “I’ve spent this long with him, and I know what kind of person he is. As for Chu Muyao, since they’ve been separated for so long, maybe he isn’t even aware of what his sister did. He just wanted to save his family member.”

Fanshenggang trailed off, stopping halfway through his sentence: “You simply have no idea about the. In short, things are not as simple as you think. Muxing… that person is not worthy of your trust.”

Yu Xingliang grew displeased: “I might have had poor judgment in the past and misjudged someone. But Muxing was the very first person I met when I came to this world, and the only reason I’m surviving and staying here is because of him. Just like your Jiang Qi met you in this world…”

Mentioning Jiang Qi caused Fanshenggang’s expression to shift.

Noticing this, Yu Xingliang wore an apologetic look: “General Fan, I really owe you an apology. After freeloading in your care for so long, I still haven’t managed to find the whereabouts of your wife. In fact, I don’t even know how I ended up here myself…”

The corners of Fanshenggang’s mouth twitched upward: “I know it hasn’t been easy.”

Yu Xingliang lowered his head, and the two fell silent at the same time.

After a long moment, Fanshenggang broke the silence first: “Tomorrow evening, a movie will be shown in the front hall of the general’s estate. If you’re interested, you can go check it out.”

Yu Xingliang looked surprised: “A movie?”

Nodding, Fanshenggang gazed steadily at Yu Xingliang: “Tomorrow we’re hosting major merchants from across the city. Many people will attend, and it’s going to be very lively. The people coming… well, tomorrow it’ll be a mix of fish and dragons.”

Yu Xingliang’s eyes lit up, instantly brightening with joy: “Thank you, General Fan.”

Fanshenggang let out a sigh: “I still have to tell you, if you wish to stay in the general’s estate, I can protect your peace and safety for a lifetime.”

“No need.” The words practically spilled out of Yu Xingliang’s mouth: “I’m going with him.”

The next day arrived quickly. Yu Xingliang woke up early, picked his favorite male outfit from the ten sets of men’s clothing, and looked at Zheng Lele in the mirror with a smile. The demeanor was starting to look more and more like his own.

In high spirits, Yu Xingliang took the rare step of stepping outside his sleeping quarters.

To be honest, he hadn’t yet taken a proper look around the general’s estate.

Along the way, the servants and attendants he encountered greeted him politely as “Doctor Yu.”

Yu Xingliang figured that if Muxing came to pick him up today, he should at least go say goodbye to Ruyi first.

“Doctor Yu.”

Before reaching Fan Ruyi’s quarters, he ran into her picking flowers in the garden.

“Ruyi.” Yu Xingliang said cheerfully: “I was just about to look for you, what are you doing?”

Looking in fairly good spirits with her face fuller than before, Fan Ruyi replied, “I’m gathering some fresh flowers, planning to learn how to make floral pastries.”

Catching sight of the flower basket filled with various blossoms hanging from Fan Ruyi’s arm, Yu Xingliang gave a thumbs-up: “Not bad at all, very creative. Though I think you could start by trying to make pastries with roses, they have a wonderful texture.”

Not expecting Yu Xingliang to offer suggestions for her pastries, Fan Ruyi immediately laughed: “Doctor Yu, you know about pastries too?”

Yu Xingliang shook his head: “I haven’t studied them professionally, but you know how much I love eating.”

Fan Ruyi covered her mouth with a chuckle. Compared to her former identity as Xiaotao, she currently looked much more like a youthful maiden.

“Oh right, there’s a movie tonight, Doctor Yu. Are you going to watch?”

Yu Xingliang smiled: “I was actually about to talk to you about that. I’m here to say goodbye.”

Looking slightly startled, Fan Ruyi asked, “Doctor Yu, you’re leaving?”

With the words on the tip of his tongue, Yu Xingliang suddenly hesitated over how to phrase them.

After all, he knew Fan Ruyi harbored resentment toward Langya Village.

After much deliberation, Yu Xingliang decided to leave a well-intentioned lie: “Yeah, your health is gradually recovering, and I should go find my family too.”

Though feeling a hint of regret, Fan Ruyi understood Yu Xingliang’s desire to go home: “Then wait for me a moment, Doctor Yu. I will definitely make rose pastries today for you to take and share with your family.”

Yu Xingliang smiled in response: “Alright.”

After waving goodbye to Fan Ruyi, Yu Xingliang decided to check out the movie venue in the front hall.

Staff in uniforms were systematically setting up the movie tent. Finding it fascinating, Yu Xingliang rarely went to crowded public cinemas since his family had their own theater, and the only time he had gone was on a date with Fan Zixi to watch some mindless art-house film.

“Hello, Doctor Yu.” A crew member moving chairs recognized Yu Xingliang and offered a kindly reminder: “It’s not set up yet, you’re a bit early.”

Yu Xingliang smiled: “Hello there. I know it’s not ready yet, I’m just taking a casual look around. Don’t mind me, go ahead and work.”

The crew member nodded: “Then please be careful, Doctor Yu, it’s best to stay near the outer edge. Things are still a mess inside right now, and if you’re not paying attention, an overhead frame might drop.”

“Thanks for the heads-up, I’ll be careful.” Warming up to the gesture, Yu Xingliang’s tone turned soft.

“See you later, Doctor Yu.”

“Yup, goodbye.” Smiling, Yu Xingliang continued walking further inside. The clanging and banging overhead really made it seem like something might actually fall down.

Suddenly, someone pulled Yu Xingliang aside from the side: “Be careful.”

Planning to head back anyway, Yu Xingliang turned his head to offer thanks: “Yeah, I’m leaving right now.”

Yet the person refused to let go, leaving Yu Xingliang puzzled as he turned back around.

“Muxing?!”

Placing his index finger against his lips, Muxing whispered: “Shh.”

Yu Xingliang immediately covered his mouth, asking in a delighted whisper: “The movie hasn’t even started yet, how did you sneak in!”

Scanning the surroundings without answering Yu Xingliang’s question, Muxing said vigilantly: “Come with me.”

Naturally, Yu Xingliang obediently followed Muxing.

They arrived at a secluded corner, where Yu Xingliang eagerly threw his arms around Muxing: “You actually came so fast!”

Muxing’s back remained rigid, only patting Yu Xingliang’s back after two seconds as he offered a dry expression of concern: “During this time, have you been doing well?”

Breathing in Muxing’s scent, Yu Xingliang felt like a recovering addict falling right back into a relapse.

“I’m fine. What about you, what about you, is your hand okay!”

Muxing paused again before replying: “It’s fine.”

“Lele, why do they call you Doctor Yu?”

Having sneaked in, Muxing had originally been worrying about how to find Zheng Lele, only to find Zheng Lele seeking him out voluntarily, dressed in men’s clothing and laughing and joking with other people in the general’s estate. This filled Muxing with puzzlement and an uneasy feeling in his chest.

Realizing that explaining the whole transmigration affair would take too long, Yu Xingliang pulled back from Muxing and said sincerely: “It’s complicated, but these past two months I’ve been staying in the general’s estate acting as Ruyi’s psychological counselor.”

“Ruyi?”

“That’s Xiaotao.” Yu Xingliang spilled everything he knew to Muxing: “Her real name is Fan Ruyi, she’s the only daughter born to Fanshenggang and his first wife.”

Muxing had known about this long ago, but he still feigned shock: “Really?”

“And guess what! We misunderstood Fanshenggang!” Yu Xingliang intended to clear Fanshenggang’s name: “Fanshenggang isn’t a bad guy at all. Oh right, your sister Chu Muyao! She… mmph.”

Yu Xingliang’s eyes widened instantly, every hair on his body standing on end.

Muxing was kissing him!

Muxing was kissing him with his eyes closed!

Because of the sheer shock, Yu Xingliang couldn’t help but open his mouth wide.

Which turned into: Muxing closing his eyes and shifting his head from side to side while kissing him!