CH 28

Chapter 28: It Turns Out That The Prince Isn’t The Prince, And The Accountant Isn’t The Accountant.

While Xu Run was making excuses, he came forward to grab Qi Ci’s wrist. As he fixed his eyes on Qi Ci, his mouth kept mumbling: Believe me.

Qi Ci’s head was buzzing, as if he was being violently hit with a heavy object, making him unable to hear Xu Run’s words. Qi Ci suddenly felt physically and mentally exhausted and wanted to leave this place right away, wrap himself in a warm quilt, and have a good sleep. He didn’t want to think about anything.

When Xu Run saw that Qi Ci didn’t reply to him, he felt a little anxious. As he pulled him a little, he accidentally pulled out an object.

It was a copper coin strung together with a red rope.

Qi Ci suddenly came back to his senses and shook off Xu Run’s hand. After stuffing the copper coin into his sleeve, Qi Ci took a deep breath and said: “Xu Run, I don’t believe you. You lied to me once, I won’t be deceived again.”

Xu Run’s jaw dropped as he shouted: “Qi Ci, what have I lied to you about??”

Qi Ci replied feeling tired: “Your life.”

Xu Run immediately staggered on his feet as he stepped back.

Yeah, Xu Run didn’t even remember that he had already lied to Qi Ci once. 

He had told Qi Ci that his family had been killed by thieves.

However, in reality, his father and stepmother were both stabbed to death by his own hands.

Xu Run suddenly burst out laughing. It was a maniacal laughter, echoing in the once silent wing room, making anyone who heard it shudder.

Qi Ci looked at him feeling numb. When he turned around to leave, he was suddenly caught by a hand.

At that, Xu Run said: “Qi Ci, I’m going to die tomorrow. I don’t need to lie to you now. Even though I did lie about my life, I really didn’t sell you to that brothel.”

Right after saying that, and no matter how much Qi Ci resisted, Xu Run dragged him to the inner room.

Qi Ci, who wanted to run away, suddenly froze when he entered the inner room.

This inner room was extremely wide and large, with a large pit dug right in the middle. This pit was filled with sandy soil and lime, with a Pill Furnace1 big enough to fit a person inside. The furnace was covered with strange spells, while the pit itself was burning with flames, hot enough to refine things inside the furnace.

Xu Run pointed to the furnace and said: “This is a Refining Longevity Pill, which can cure all kinds of diseases. It took me many years to find the ancient method of refining, so that’s why I pretended to be the Prince. I needed the power to get some rare medicinal herbs. With this, Xu Li’s disease will be cured! Qi Ci, this pill will finally be refined tomorrow! Tomorrow, I’ll return the Prince’s identity to you, because-…”

Xu Run paused for a little bit, and then added: “Because this Longevity Pill needs a blood relative as a guide. Tomorrow, at noon, I will jump into that Pill Furnace.”

Qi Ci looked up all of a sudden, looking at Xu Run with a shocked expression. Xu Run, on the other hand, looked unexpectedly calm, as if he had long been ready to die, but this was the first time he said it out loud. As Xu Run stepped forward, getting close to Qi Ci, he explained urgently: “Qi Ci, I only have one more day to live. Believe me, I really didn’t sell you to that brothel. I’m about to die, so why would I lie? You have to believe me!”

Xu Run was almost begging at this point. He had walked in this world for a long time and was never able to meet anything warm. Because of this, he grew up grumpy and lonely from childhood, and the only thing he wanted in this world was to cure his sister’s illness. Of course, that was until he met Qi Ci.

He had also hurt a lot of people, but Xu Run didn’t regret any of it, nor was he afraid. After all, those people deserved it! Just like his father, who used to beat him as a child and strangled his mother. Or like his stepmother, who wanted to marry Xu Li to an 80-year-old man in the city in exchange for a dowry.

All of them deserved to be stabbed to death by his own hands!

But Qi Ci was different.

He was different!

Qi Ci had given him the only warm and close fitting new clothes he ever had!

Xu Run was so anxious that he knelt abruptly, knocking his head violently against the ground. But when he raised his head, Qi Ci had turned around and walked away.

Xu Run’s eyes suddenly turned red. As he struggled to stand up and chase after him, he tripped over the threshold and stumbled to the ground. All he could do was to shout with all the strength he had left: “Qi Ci! I beg you, please go to see Xu Li tomorrow morning! She’s been waiting to see you for a long time. She doesn’t know anything! She doesn’t know! You can blame everything on me and loathe me, but at least go to see her! Qi Ci!”

…

Qi Ci was confused and lost in thought as he walked out of the Western Courtyard. When all of a sudden, he accidentally bumped into someone.

It turned out to be Qin Yicang.

Qin Yicang spread open his fan as he said with a grin: “What’s the matter with you, Qi Gongzi? Why do you look like this?”

Qi Ci looked up at him in a daze, and it took him a long time before he could react and ask: “Has Bian Zhonghua been escorted back to the Secret Servant Residence?”

Qin Yicang replied: “Oh, not yet. If you rush to the gates of the Prince’s Residence, you should be able to see him. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until his seven days of punishment are over, and then go meet him. Hey, don’t run! Slow down a bit.”

When Qi Ci was a fair distance away, Qin Yicang slowly shook his fan, slowly looking at the Western Courtyard with a deep gaze: “How strange things turned out to be. It turns out that the Prince isn’t the Prince, and the accountant isn’t the accountant. How interesting.”