In his dreams, Wen Qingci seemed to relive the original owner’s twenty years of life.

 

His childhood was carefree.

 

The family made a living by collecting herbs. Though not wealthy, they never worried about food and clothing.

 

The only trouble in life was memorizing complex medical books.

 

Until that year, when disaster struck their home.

 

As a young boy, he understood what it meant to lose everything.

 

He dragged a straw mat and personally buried his relatives in the yellow earth.

 

With a bit of determination and a chance encounter in the mountains, he stumbled upon the Valley of the Divine Physicians.

 

Wen Qingci knelt outside the valley, not rising until the old master appeared, and he finally fainted from exhaustion.

 

He slept for several days before waking up.

 

During that sleep, Wen Qingci remembered… the world he lived in was a novel he had read before his death in his previous life.

 

His fate was already written—to be torn apart by the new emperor.

 

Now, recalling everything, Wen Qingci knew he could avoid a tragic end by staying far from Yongdu and not getting involved in the affairs of Taishu Palace.

 

But he did not do that.

 

Instead, he read by candlelight and roamed the martial world.

 

Facing anger and curses, risking death, he dissected corpses to find answers.

 

The number of corpses Wen Qingci dissected grew, and his notes thickened.

 

The name “Immortal-faced Demon” spread throughout the land.

 

Life outside the valley was mostly lonely.

 

People avoided him like the plague, but he paid no mind.

 

Whenever he returned to the valley, he stayed in his room, reading and studying.

 

Until a letter was brought into the valley by a medicine servant: Consort Lan, through Eunuch Zhao, sought a poison that could kill invisibly.

 

This letter from Yongdu eventually fell into Wen Qingci’s hands.

 

He did not give Consort Lan poison but personally made incense pills and sent them to the palace.

 

The incense pills, containing heavy metals, would drive people mad and foolish, and the emperor would inevitably seek famous physicians.

 

Wen Qingci wanted to use this opportunity to enter the palace.

 

He not only wanted revenge but wanted to do it personally.

 

Besides killing the old emperor, Wen Qingci wanted to bring this buried history to light.

 

This was something only he could do.

 

The novel “Supporting the Ming Hall” also mentioned that the final boss, Xie Bufeng, who appeared in only a few scenes, could hear the evil thoughts in people’s hearts.

 

So before leaving, Wen Qingci tried to stimulate his brain with internal force and hypnotize himself to bury the memories and hatred of the past twenty years deep in his heart.

 

Hatred and malice are difficult to disguise and hide.

 

There was too little content about Xie Bufeng in the novel, and Wen Qingci was unsure if he had any father-son feelings for Xie Zhaolin in the early stages.

 

To ensure the plan was foolproof, he had to do this.

 

When Wen Qingci left, he promised his senior brother that he would return to the valley after avenging.

 

But in reality, with a heart set on revenge, he was already prepared to die miserably as written in the original work.

 

His internal force was not deep, and the hypnosis would gradually fail in a few years.

 

Having read the original work, he knew that Xie Zhaolin did not trust the ministers around him but valued eunuchs and imperial physicians who had no real power.

 

As long as he devoted himself to treating illnesses, he would gradually gain Xie Zhaolin’s trust and even become a confidant.

 

According to Wen Qingci’s calculations, after Xie Bufeng went to the battlefield, his memory would slowly recover.

 

By then, Xie Zhaolin, poisoned by heavy metals, should already be insane and a puppet.

 

And he could use his position as the emperor’s confidant to contact the court and find a way to make the matter of Songxiu Prefecture public, then personally kill him.

 

This was Wen Qingci’s first attempt, and it was not very successful.

 

Although he forgot everything in this life, the memories and emotions of his previous life also became blurred and even forgotten.

 

The fact that Xie Bufeng could hear the malice in people’s hearts was one of them.

 

But overall, Wen Qingci almost perfectly achieved his goal.

 

The only variable was—without the memories of the past twenty years and forgetting that Xie Bufeng could hear the malice in people’s hearts, he became overly bold and kind-hearted.

 

Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng became closer than in the original work.

 

The plot also accelerated because of this.

 

Before Wen Qingci could naturally recover his memory, the plot rushed to the present.

 

…So, he is the original owner?

 

It turns out Xie Bufeng can hear the malice in people’s hearts?!

 

In his sleep, Wen Qingci couldn’t tell which of these two pieces of information was more shocking.

 

Before he could think more, his thoughts were once again scattered by the memories flooding in like a tide.

 

Every book he had read in the past twenty years appeared in his mind.

 

In his dream, Wen Qingci returned to the bamboo house in the valley.

 

He saw himself lying alone on the bed, clenching his teeth.

 

Internal force pierced his forehead like a small knife.

 

His hands clenched into fists beside him, and his breathing became particularly difficult.

 

—Is it worth it?

 

To throw away twenty years of learning and even risking his life for revenge?

 

Years ago, in the Valley of the Divine Physicians, determined to kill the emperor and bring justice to the people of Songxiu Prefecture, his answer was “worth it.”

 

And at this moment, the voice in his heart asked him again—Is it worth it?

 

Now was not the time for his memory to naturally recover.

 

Forcibly recalling everything would only cause more pain than back then.

 

Wen Qingci’s answer was still “worth it.”

 

At this moment, he clearly realized that after twenty years of studying medicine, his obsession was no longer killing but saving lives.

 

To ensure there would never be another Shan Yu Jian in the world.

 

Xie Bufeng mustered the courage to reach out and gently touch Wen Qingci’s arm.

 

The once cold and delicate skin like white porcelain was now covered with shallow pink scars.

 

New and old, overlapping and uneven.

 

…These were once deep, bone-revealing wounds.

 

Now that he understood the pain, he couldn’t imagine how much Wen Qingci’s hands must have hurt.

 

It turned out he had been injured again without his knowledge.

 

Xie Bufeng felt both sad and angry, helpless.

 

The thick smoke changed direction with the wind and came over.

 

Xie Bufeng, as if waking from a dream, held Wen Qingci tightly and headed towards the county yamen.

 

Sparks blown by the wind landed on Xie Bufeng, burning a small scar.

 

But he seemed unaware, not even frowning.

 

He even took off his outer robe and wrapped it tightly around Wen Qingci.

 

Xie Bufeng kept pressing his fingers to Wen Qingci’s neck, checking his breathing and pulse.

 

Over and over, as if possessed.

 

Wen Qingci’s breathing was faint, and his pulse was sometimes strong and sometimes weak.

 

The most fatal point was that Wen Qingci’s internal force was also uncontrollably rampaging.

 

This rampage was aimless, almost attacking all organs indiscriminately.

 

Fear spread in Xie Bufeng’s heart.

 

As the supreme ruler, he realized belatedly that he was still trapped in that snowy night in Taishu Palace, unable to escape.

 

…

 

Outside the county yamen, the scorching sun blazed, and yellow paper fluttered.

 

Countless people wailed along the street, sending their loved ones to the outskirts in thin coffins.

 

Inside the county yamen, it was silent.

 

Just now, Song Junran, who was busy outside, pushed aside the gathered imperial physicians and hurriedly kicked open the locked courtyard door.

 

“Move aside, everyone move aside!” The next moment, he sat by the bed and rolled up Wen Qingci’s sleeve.

 

“Yes, yes!” Seeing this, Yu Guanlin quickly stepped back, led the people out, and skillfully closed the door.

 

Then he waved to the frightened imperial physicians around him and said, “Alright, alright, disperse. Go do other things!”

 

“Yes, Physician Yu.”

 

After everyone left, Yu Guanlin slowly turned around and looked back at Wen Qingci’s room.

 

Just now, he smelled a familiar fragrance from this wandering physician.

 

If he remembered correctly, Wen Qingci also had this scent.

 

But Wen Qingci… wasn’t he already dead?

 

In the midsummer, Yu Guanlin’s back couldn’t help but feel cold.

 

The wooden door blocked the afternoon sunlight outside.

 

Turning into a layer of pale gold, it fell on Wen Qingci’s wrist.

 

Song Junran always adhered to the medical philosophy of treating if possible, and leaving it to fate if not.

 

In all his years of practicing medicine, he had never been as nervous as he was at this moment.

 

He placed his hand on Wen Qingci’s wrist, his fingers trembling uncontrollably, unable to even feel the pulse.

 

Completely unworthy of the title of divine physician.

 

“His internal force has a problem,” Xie Bufeng quickly said from the side, “It seems to be rampaging between his internal organs.”

 

Song Junran paused, then immediately tightened his grip on Wen Qingci’s wrist.

 

Holding his breath, he probed and then used external force to guide Wen Qingci’s internal force, avoiding the fragile organs.

 

“Something’s wrong…” Cold sweat formed on Song Junran’s forehead as he muttered to himself.

 

Wen Qingci’s internal energy wasn’t entirely erratic.

 

it was… like a tide, surging into his mind.

 

“What’s wrong?” Noticing Song Junran’s strange expression, Xie Bufeng immediately asked.

 

Sitting by the bedside, Song Junran slowly lowered his eyes, paused, and then shook his head, saying softly, “It’s nothing.”

 

He kept this oddity to himself.

 

‘Why is Xie Bufeng still here! With him always in the house, how can I observe my junior brother’s condition?’

 

Song Junran’s slightly impatient voice reached Xie Bufeng’s ears.

 

Just as he was wondering how to get this imposing figure to leave, Xie Bufeng unexpectedly turned and left Wen Qingci’s room.

 

Sitting by the bed, Song Junran was momentarily stunned… Did he just make a mistake?

 

Judging by Xie Bufeng’s reaction, it seemed as if he could hear Song Junran’s thoughts.

 

“…What am I thinking all day?” Song Junran shook his head, quickly suppressing the strange notion.

 

He then gently removed the veil hat and began to observe Wen Qingci’s complexion—

 

Song Junran’s internal energy was also being endlessly consumed.

 

By evening, his energy was nearly exhausted.

 

Unlike Wen Qingci, who studied the plague day and night, Song Junran hadn’t rested properly for several days.

 

After confirming that Wen Qingci’s internal energy wasn’t entirely chaotic, he succumbed to fatigue and returned to his room for a short rest.

 

As the evening glow faded, hot winds carrying thick smoke blew through the corners of the small town.

 

The mourning music and cries had stopped at some point, leaving the streets and alleys in silence.

 

With a soft creak, Xie Bufeng carefully pushed open the door, entered Wen Qingci’s room, and gently closed the door behind him.

 

The world before him once again became dim and obscure.

 

At this moment, the cramped space was filled with the bitter fragrance emanating from Wen Qingci’s blood.

 

Xie Bufeng’s usually clear and cold amber eyes became confused and helpless.

 

He slowly walked to the bedside, knelt down, held his breath, and gently lifted Wen Qingci’s injured left arm.

 

Without the veil hat’s barrier, after more than four hundred days and nights, Wen Qingci’s appearance finally became clear to Xie Bufeng once again.

 

Perhaps due to wearing the veil for so long, Wen Qingci’s already pale skin had become even more bloodless.

 

Only a spot of cinnabar between his brows remained, glaringly red.

 

His eyes were tightly closed, and his fine eyelashes trembled slightly with his breathing.

 

—Like dandelions about to be blown away by the wind.

 

Xie Bufeng’s gaze greedily swept over Wen Qingci’s body.

 

Finally, he leaned down bit by bit, placing a chaste kiss on the cinnabar between Wen Qingci’s brows.

 

But this kiss did not satisfy Xie Bufeng, instead, it instantly pulled out the desires buried deep in his heart.

 

Xie Bufeng’s tall figure blocked the already dim sunlight.

 

At this moment, Wen Qingci’s body was pressed under Xie Bufeng’s shadow.

 

His slightly curly long hair draped over his shoulders, like countless hands gently and carefully brushing past Wen Qingci’s cheeks.

 

Xie Bufeng’s breathing suddenly became erratic.

 

He slowly brought his lips to Wen Qingci’s ear, and after kissing his earlobe, softly murmured the name that had lingered on his lips countless times:

 

“…Wen Qingci.”

 

“Wen Qingci, please wake up?”

 

“Don’t leave me again.”

 

In solitude, Xie Bufeng finally allowed himself to show vulnerability.

 

He called Wen Qingci’s name over and over again.

 

But the person lying on the bed remained oblivious.

 

Earlier, Song Junran had said he wasn’t sure when Wen Qingci would wake up.

 

This statement amplified Xie Bufeng’s anxiety.

 

Xie Bufeng could only repeatedly kiss Wen Qingci’s forehead and trembling eyelashes, feeling his body temperature to confirm he was still alive.

 

Rationality and maturity were just Xie Bufeng’s facade.

 

Savageness and coldness were what had been etched into his bones early on.

 

Now, with the only audience he cared about asleep, driven by anxiety, Xie Bufeng finally allowed himself to drop the facade.

 

Xie Bufeng’s kisses moved lower and lower.

 

He carefully lifted Wen Qingci’s arm, repeatedly kissing the scars covering it.

 

He left countless red marks on those scars.

 

Then, as if in punishment, he kissed the jade-like collarbone.

 

The sunlight grew dimmer and dimmer.

 

The fiery glow broke through the window paper, falling into the room.

 

Everything was enveloped in an ambiguous dark red.

 

Just like that night on the northern plains.

 

The room was filled with a bitter fragrance, accompanied by a series of ambiguous sounds.

 

…

 

At the hour of Xu, Song Junran finally woke up from his nap.

 

Seeing that it was late, he washed up, then went to the kitchen to make himself something to eat.

 

After some hesitation, he also made a bowl of plain porridge for Wen Qingci.

 

Wen Qingci hadn’t eaten all day, and if he woke up at night, he could use it to fill his stomach.

 

With this thought, Song Junran walked to Wen Qingci’s room and gently placed his hand on the door.

 

“Something’s wrong…”

 

Wasn’t his junior brother still unconscious? Why was the door locked from the inside?

 

Song Junran instinctively frowned and pushed harder.

 

The wooden door remained unmoved.

 

“Junior brother, junior brother?!”

 

Song Junran raised his voice and knocked heavily on the door.

 

The door still didn’t budge, and a strong sense of unease surged in his heart.

 

Without thinking, Song Junran immediately gathered his internal energy in his palm and pushed hard against the door.

 

The guest room door of the county office was old and in disrepair, with the lock being almost decorative.

 

With a loud bang, the wooden door was pushed open by his palm.

 

In the next moment, the scene inside the room unfolded before Song Junran’s eyes.

 

A buzzing sound rang in his ears.

 

—The hair tie had fallen somewhere, and Wen Qingci’s long hair was spread out like a dark waterfall across the bed.

 

Not only was his collar loose, but his exposed left arm was also faintly covered with… those kinds of marks.

 

The bed curtain was half down, half still tied up.

 

Xie Bufeng lay by the bed, holding Wen Qingci tightly in his arms.

 

Like a venomous snake, he wrapped around Wen Qingci.

 

Damn!

 

How dare he?!

 

How could such a person exist in this world?

 

Seeing this scene, Song Junran’s eyes instantly turned red.

 

Ignoring the extremely noble status of the person in front of him, he subconsciously clenched the porcelain bowl in his hand and almost gritted his teeth as he said, “Xie Bufeng, what are you doing?!”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, accompanied by a flash of white light, the porridge bowl in Song Junran’s hand was thrown at the person by the bed like a hidden weapon.

 

In the blink of an eye, it hit Xie Bufeng’s back heavily, soaking his dark black robe.

 

Song Junran wished he could kill Xie Bufeng right now.

 

He rushed over, smashed the tea cup on the table, picked up a piece of porcelain, and pressed it against Xie Bufeng’s neck.

 

But Xie Bufeng, who had lived a life of licking blood from the blade on the battlefield, how could he fear a mere wandering physician who only knew hidden weapons?

 

He exerted force with his wrist, muscles tensed.

 

The next moment, he threw the piece of porcelain that was pressed against his neck, embedding it deeply into the wall.

 

“Get out.”

 

The afterglow of the setting sun reflected in Xie Bufeng’s eyes.

 

Instead of illuminating those cold amber eyes, it reflected a few shades of terrifying blood.

 

Song Junran struck again, only to be blocked by Xie Bufeng.

 

Unlike Song Junran, who was full of murderous intent and wished to kill the other party right now.

 

Xie Bufeng actually had the leisure to slowly look back at the person on the bed, then lowered his voice and said, “Don’t disturb him.” At the same time, he tidied Wen Qingci’s sleeves and carefully tucked in the thin quilt before getting up and walking out slowly.

 

Song Junran immediately gritted his teeth and followed.

 

In the chaos, no one noticed that Wen Qingci’s internal strength gradually stabilized.

 

In his sleep, he seemed to hear something.

 

Wen Qingci couldn’t help but frown, trying to break free from the chaos.

 

In the small courtyard of the Lianhe County Yamen, Song Junran turned everything he could find into hidden weapons and threw them at Xie Bufeng.

 

But all his actions were easily defused by Xie Bufeng.

 

“Did you send people to follow me all the way to the valley back then?” Song Junran gritted his teeth and said, “All these years of actions were to force him out?!”

 

Without waiting for Xie Bufeng to answer, Song Junran asked again, “What did you do to my junior brother just now?”

 

“If he wakes up and knows——”

 

As he spoke, he used a thin piece of stone to stab at Xie Bufeng’s eyes.

 

Song Junran tried hard to erase the scene from his mind.

 

But he found that even with just a glance, that scene was deeply engraved in his mind.

 

Thinking of this, Song Junran’s brain couldn’t help but go numb.

 

Fortunately, he came to find his junior brother.

 

If he had been a little late, who knows what this pervert Xie Bufeng would have done!

 

Unlike the extremely angry Song Junran, Xie Bufeng actually started to laugh slowly at this moment.

 

But his smile never reached his eyes.

 

Wen Qingci had not yet woken up, and the door was tightly closed.

 

So at this moment, he was too lazy to hide his disgust.

 

——Xie Bufeng would never forget that it was this person in front of him who had once silently taken Wen Qingci away from his side.

 

“What, senior brother?” Xie Bufeng lightly raised his eyebrows, always keeping his eyes open, not dodging as he looked at Song Junran, and said lightly, “Do you want to tell Qingci about this?”

 

Just before the stone pierced his eyes, he used his palm wind to deflect it.

 

“Who are you calling senior brother!”

 

After saying this, Song Junran realized that Xie Bufeng actually dared to call Wen Qingci by his name!

 

As he spoke, Xie Bufeng slowly took off his dirty outer robe, casually draped it over his arm, and said indifferently, “I have married Qingci, this is known to everyone. It is reasonable to call you ‘senior brother’ along with him.”

 

Married?

 

A strange scene by the Yin River Grand Canal suddenly appeared in Song Junran’s mind.

 

Like cold river water, it splashed on him, making him calm down.

 

Song Junran suddenly gritted his teeth and stood still.

 

…A few days ago, he thought that Xie Bufeng seemed much more normal after not seeing him for a year.

 

He was busy with his illness, running around all day, and indeed looked a bit like an emperor.

 

At this moment, Song Junran was sure that Xie Bufeng hadn’t really changed, he had just learned to disguise.

 

Everything Xie Bufeng did was just to put on a human-like appearance in front of Wen Qingci!

 

But now, Xie Bufeng seemed unable to keep up the act.

 

Wen Qingci’s coma had torn off his mask.

 

This madman was not afraid of being exposed by him.

 

He might even be genuinely looking forward to that moment?

 

Song Junran couldn’t help but feel a chill all over.

 

A madman who could act was even more dangerous than before.

 

In the silence, they suddenly heard footsteps.

 

The next moment, they both looked towards the door.

 

Wen Qingci, who had just woken up, had already put on a veil hat and slowly pushed open the door.

 

He looked extremely tired, barely able to stand by leaning against the door.

 

Wen Qingci couldn’t help but cough lightly and asked, “…Cough cough, you two?”

 

Song Junran immediately put down what he was holding.

 

“I——” Before Xie Bufeng could finish speaking, Song Junran suddenly gritted his teeth and took a step forward to block him, then forced a smile at his junior brother.

 

He paused for a few seconds and slowly said, “I came to ask him… what he wants to eat tonight?”

 

No matter what Xie Bufeng was planning.

 

At this moment, he had to force Xie Bufeng to put his human mask back on!