The Paranoid Male Lead’s "White Moonlight" Has Reborn - Chapter 28

A few more days passed, and they had traveled nearly two hundred miles northward. Although this speed was considered very slow, Jiang Chaoyun felt a distinct change in the weather.

It had grown colder, and the white specks fluttering down from the sky at night appeared to be snow.

That evening, the convoy stopped to rest at a deserted temple. This saved them much time usually spent pitching tents, as they could simply make do within the temple for the night.

Jiang Chaoyun’s body was precious; even in such conditions, the convoy managed to set up a soft bed for him where he could comfortably roll around.

Over the past few days, despite the convoy’s best efforts to accommodate him, the maintenance of the official roads worsened the further they got from Jiangnan. The path grew more turbulent, and no matter how many layers of lambskin rugs were spread in the carriage, the jolting was unavoidable.

Consequently, several bruises had appeared on Jiang Chaoyun’s body, and he himself couldn’t say exactly when he had bumped into things. Thus, a soft, large bed was enough to keep him happy for an entire evening.

Bixin set up a bright yellow screen for him in a corner of the temple, finally separating him from the rough, boisterous men.

However, because he had slept too much during the day, Jiang Chaoyun couldn’t sleep now. He wrapped himself in his cloak and sat by the campfire to listen to the escorts chat.

At some point, Han Jiangmu walked over and sat down beside him.

Jiang Chaoyun looked down at Han Jiangmu and couldn’t help but reach out to pat the man’s waist. “Get up, you’re sitting on my cloak.”

Han Jiangmu shifted his weight slightly, watching as Jiang Chaoyun pulled the cloak back and gathered it up carefully onto his knees to keep it from touching the dusty ground.

For some reason, just watching this scene made Han Jiangmu’s mood improve.

An escort happened to be talking about a case where a local squire’s entire family had been massacred. Jiang Chaoyun blinked and immediately held his breath to listen intently.

“The county magistrate investigated that massacre for a month before finally catching the killer. Guess who it was?”

The escorts who only wanted to hear the story without playing guessing games immediately urged, “Don’t make us guess, just tell us who!”

There were also those who played along. “Was it the squire’s concubine?”

“No, no, no—you’d never guess. It was the squire’s legal wife!”

“What? Why the wife? Didn’t the wife die too?”

The storyteller looked triumphant. “That’s where you’re wrong. The legal wife found a maidservant, dressed her in her own clothes, and then ordered someone to cut off the head and throw it into a well to make everyone think it was her. As for the fifty-odd people in the squire’s household, she poisoned them all with arsenic first. Afterward, she stabbed them to create the illusion that the wounds were the cause of death. She then fled with her lover. Fortunately, our magistrate is brilliant and divine; such a petty trick couldn’t escape his sharp eyes, and she was caught in no time.”

A younger escort muttered, “If it took a month, how can you call it ‘in no time’?”

The storyteller slapped him and scolded, “Investigating a case takes time!”

Jiang Chaoyun was enthralled. Han Jiangmu’s gaze fell on his face; from his angle, he could see most of the boy’s profile. The bright firelight reflected in his clear, light-colored eyes, making them look exceptionally brilliant.

Noticing the gaze, Jiang Chaoyun turned to look at him. That glance brushed over him so lightly that it made Han Jiangmu’s fingers tighten.

“What are you looking at me for?” Jiang Chaoyun muttered. He gave Han Jiangmu a glare before turning back, resting his chin in his hand to continue listening to the escorts.

In this state, he looked incredibly well-behaved. Han Jiangmu’s Adam’s apple bobbed a few times before he shifted his gaze back to the flames.

For some reason, the conversation shifted to the topic of education. “Even though being an escort pays well throughout the year, it’s all ‘life-on-the-edge’ money. If a family has the means, it’s still better to let the children study.”

On this point, all the escorts were in agreement. “If there are means, of course one should study. As the saying goes, ‘All pursuits are lowly; only scholarship is high.’ But scholarship requires paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones—it’s a massive expense. My son is six this year and attends a private school. The tuition is two taels, a ream of the cheapest paper is eight hundred wen, a decent brush is five hundred wen, and even a common inkstone costs a tael. All told, it’s an expense of forty or fifty taels a year. The child is young now, so we can manage, but as he grows older, we truly won’t be able to provide for it.”

When the topic turned to money, everyone looked quite troubled.

Someone noticed Jiang Chaoyun and asked with a smile, “Young Master is here too. Young Master must have studied, right?”

Seeing everyone’s eyes on him, Jiang Chaoyun hurriedly said, “I have.”

“What books did the Young Master read?”

“Just the Four Books and Five Classics and such,” Jiang Chaoyun answered.

The man became more enthusiastic and asked with some expectation, “Then has the Young Master ever taken the imperial examinations?”

Jiang Chaoyun: “…”

He fell silent for a moment. The others also understood; with the employer’s son having such a sickly body, whether he could even go to take the exams was questionable. They immediately dropped the subject. The leader said a few words to smooth things over and moved on to other anecdotes.

However, Jiang Chaoyun felt a rare sense of embarrassment, and his cheeks turned red. Seeing that they didn’t continue asking, he breathed a sigh of relief. His beautiful hands unconsciously gripped the cloak piled on his knees.

These small movements did not escape Han Jiangmu’s notice. He leaned closer to Jiang Chaoyun and whispered, “Does Young Master want to go rest?”

His hot breath brushed against Jiang Chaoyun’s ear, causing a slight itching sensation. The boy couldn’t help but tilt his head away. “…I’m not resting.”

Han Jiangmu said nothing more.

However, after a while, Jiang Chaoyun proactively leaned closer and asked in a small voice, “Did you really kill that woman?”

Han Jiangmu looked down at him. Seeing the boy’s eyes were clear and devoid of fear—expressing instead a kind of confusion and bewilderment—he whispered, “I did.”

Jiang Chaoyun couldn’t help but grip the cloak on his knees again. Though his palms were soft, his fingers were slender; as they sank into the dark cloak, the contrast between white and dark was exceptionally striking. “Why did you kill her?”

Han Jiangmu replied, “I wanted to kill her, so I did.”

Jiang Chaoyun gave a soft “Ah” and fell silent.

Han Jiangmu asked, “Does Young Master think me cruel?”

Although Jiang Chaoyun didn’t say it outright, the look in his eyes betrayed that he did. He even shifted his seat a little further away.

Han Jiangmu lowered his gaze, picked up a piece of wood, and threw it into the fire before saying to Jiang Chaoyun, “She deserved to die. Your mother thought so as well.”

Jiang Chaoyun was momentarily dazed. “I see. Even my mother said so.”

Now, he wasn’t afraid anymore.

Han Jiangmu then asked deliberately, “Does Young Master believe in the principle of ‘a life for a life’?”

Jiang Chaoyun paused and said quite seriously, “I believe that there are deities three feet above our heads. The sins a person commits will surely be calculated by the Underworld after death, and then they’ll be reborn as livestock in the next life.”

Han Jiangmu’s brow furrowed slightly before relaxing again. “So Young Master believes in ghosts and gods.”

Sensing a trace of disdain, Jiang Chaoyun couldn’t help but snort coldly. “What’s wrong with believing in ghosts and gods? It’s better to believe; that way I stay alert and won’t do anything against my conscience. I can reflect on my actions for a lifetime.”

After speaking, he couldn’t resist glancing at Han Jiangmu. “On the other hand, you should be careful. You’ve killed someone—if you don’t do more good deeds to make up for it, you’ll have to be a cow or a horse in your next life.”

Han Jiangmu looked at him deeply and said, “If that’s the case, what about the soldiers who protect the country? They kill countless people on the battlefield, yet it is because of those soldiers that the country can have peace and security. According to Young Master’s theory of ‘deities three feet above,’ how would that be calculated? Are those soldiers destined to be reborn as animals?”

Jiang Chaoyun was instantly caught in the trap of the argument, his eyes widening as he was left speechless.

After a long while, he spoke with great conviction: “Those soldiers kill many, but they also save many. It balances out.”

Han Jiangmu gave an “Oh.”

“According to Young Master’s logic, if I want to kill someone, I can just kill them. As long as I kill people while saving people at the same time, I’ll have no sin. Is that right, Young Master?”

Jiang Chaoyun: “…”

His face turned beet red. “…You… you can’t put it like that either.”

Han Jiangmu pressed, “I can’t? Then how should it be said? Isn’t that what Young Master meant?”

Jiang Chaoyun stammered but couldn’t provide a logical explanation.

Only then did Han Jiangmu realize how naive the boy’s thoughts were. He whispered, “Young Master, instead of believing in ghosts and gods, it is better to believe in yourself. While alive in this world, one should live a life of satisfaction and leave no regrets. Beyond that, consider nothing else.”

Choked by the argument and with his face flushed red, Jiang Chaoyun simply turned his head away and ignored him.

Han Jiangmu continued to tease him. “Why has Young Master stopped speaking?”

“Young Master, is your body uncomfortable? Why don’t you answer me? Was I wrong?”

Hit by this triple-barreled questioning, Jiang Chaoyun felt dizzy, ashamed, and indignant. He stood up suddenly and said, “I’m not talking to you anymore! And you’re not allowed to talk to me either!”

Han Jiangmu knew when to stop and complied with his wish.

Jiang Chaoyun gave him a glare before retracting his gaze somewhat dejectedly. After Han Jiangmu’s questioning, he realized how naive he truly was.

But what he had said was truly what he thought in his heart.

He was depressed—very depressed.

Jiang Chaoyun returned to his resting place in a foul mood. However, as soon as he sat down, Han Jiangmu followed him. From behind the screen, the man said to Jiang Chaoyun, “Young Master’s theory of ghosts and gods also has some merit. But there are very few who can practice self-reflection like the Young Master. I hope the Young Master always maintains such a pure heart.”

Jiang Chaoyun froze, the corners of his mouth curling up unconsciously. The dimples at the corners of his mouth flickered. The depression that had just been weighing on his heart vanished instantly. He tried his best to reply in a calm tone: “Oh.”

However, his acting skills were truly lacking. Han Jiangmu heard the lively lilt in his voice, and the corners of his own lips couldn’t help but tilt upward as well.