Futile Devices Scans

The Third Prince wanted to carry Mu Xueshi back inside so he could rest.

But no matter what he said, Mu Xueshi refused. He simply stood there in silence—neither crying nor making a fuss, not uttering a single word.

Before long, dawn arrived.

Warm sunlight spilled across every corner of the small courtyard, and the world slowly began to stir back to life.

After that single Yinglan Flower had bloomed, not a second milky-white blossom appeared before anyone’s eyes again.

Mu Xueshi’s entire face had turned pale and bloodless.

The Third Prince had long grown accustomed to Mu Xueshi’s mischievous cleverness and lively temperament. Seeing him now like a man who had lost his soul made even the Third Prince’s own mood grow heavy.

In the end, the Third Prince ignored Mu Xueshi’s protests entirely and carried him back into the room.

In his arms, Mu Xueshi struggled stubbornly. His whole body was stiff with resistance, his face flushed red. No matter how the Third Prince warned him, he kept insisting he wanted to remain in the courtyard.

Finally, the Third Prince placed him on the bed and sat beside the couch, watching over him.

Mu Xueshi’s large eyes had lost all their usual sparkle.

Yet he refused to close them.

Instead, he stared blankly at the ceiling, counting the carved patterns overhead. His lips moved in faint murmurs, muttering something indistinct under his breath.

The Third Prince reached out and gently stroked Mu Xueshi’s face from top to bottom, hoping the soothing motion would coax him to obediently close his eyes.

But even after several passes of his hand, Mu Xueshi’s eyes remained wide open, as if deliberately opposing him.

“Sleep.”

At last the Third Prince broke his silence and issued the command.

His voice carried unmistakable authority.

If this had been yesterday—or any time before—Mu Xueshi would have shut his eyes immediately and would never have opened them again without the Third Prince’s permission.

But today, Mu Xueshi feared nothing.

The more the Third Prince ordered him to sleep, the heavier the guilt in his heart grew. And the heavier that guilt became, the more he refused to allow himself the luxury of rest.

Seeing that Mu Xueshi had reached the point of openly defying his command, the Third Prince felt anger rise in his chest.

Mu Xueshi clearly heard the faint cracking sound of knuckles in the quiet room.

Yet he felt no fear at all.

“Beat me,” Mu Xueshi murmured softly.

“Beat me so I’ll remember this lesson.”

The Third Prince’s face darkened.

“Why should I beat you?”

Two round tears slipped from the corners of Mu Xueshi’s eyes. Staring up at the ceiling, he sobbed:

“If you don’t… I’ll regret it for the rest of my life…”

Suddenly his emotions surged out of control.

He jerked upright and began pounding the bed, crying in utter despair. Before the Third Prince could say a word, Mu Xueshi threw himself forward and clung tightly to him.

Wrapping his arms around the Third Prince’s head, he cried out:

“Tell me—why am I so useless? Why? Why?! If you don’t tell me, I won’t let go of you! I won’t! Wuu—!”

The Third Prince’s earlier anger dissolved completely into helplessness.

Watching Mu Xueshi lose all reason like this made him feel both amused and faintly pained.

Mu Xueshi buried his face against the Third Prince’s shoulder, sobbing in broken gasps. Hearing those ragged cries made the Third Prince feel strangely unsettled, and the hand resting on Mu Xueshi’s waist tightened slightly without him realizing it.

At that moment—

“Third Prince! Urgent matters to report!”

An anxious voice suddenly sounded from outside the room.

It was Sun Ye.

Another person seemed to be with him, and the doorway sounded somewhat chaotic.

The Third Prince frowned and made a move to set Mu Xueshi back on the bed so he could go out.

But Mu Xueshi clung to him like an octopus, refusing to loosen his grip. When the Third Prince applied a little force, he discovered Mu Xueshi was resisting with equal determination.

In the end, he simply lowered his hand again.

“Enter.”

Sun Ye froze.

At first he thought he had misheard.

When the Third Prince did not come out, he finally realized that the Third Prince had truly permitted him to enter the inner chamber.

As soon as he stepped inside, Sun Ye stopped dead in his tracks.

He was dragging someone beside him, and the two of them entered together.

Seeing the Third Prince and Mu Xueshi stuck together so intimately—with the Third Prince wearing such an unexpectedly gentle expression—both men thought their eyes must be deceiving them.

Noticing their astonished expressions, the Third Prince made no effort to hide his emotions. Instead, he spoke to Sun Ye in an unusually mild tone.

“What is it?”

After hearing this, Sun Ye immediately threw the man in his grasp onto the floor.

It was none other than the infamous Gu Master Mo Ru.

Pointing fiercely at him, Sun Ye said:

“This traitor dared deceive Your Highness! The pollen of the Yinglan Flower he spoke of before—it was nothing but a trick to fool people! This morning he told me that the Gu poison in Your Highness’s body had already been completely removed!”

Mo Ru lay sprawled on the ground, pretending to look full of remorse.

He turned to Sun Ye and cried out dramatically,

“You actually betrayed me! I told you in good faith, and you—ah, my heart is shattered!”

Before the Third Prince could respond, Mu Xueshi spoke first.

He stared blankly at Mo Ru, swallowed a few times, and then said quietly to the Third Prince:

“May I deal with him myself?”

The Third Prince looked at Mo Ru, his expression complicated.

He did not truly wish to grant this request. Even if Mo Ru was not someone easily provoked, the Third Prince had intended to give him a proper warning.

But when he saw that a faint spark had returned to Mu Xueshi’s eyes—his expression beginning to brighten again like clouds parting after rain—the Third Prince could not bear to disappoint him.

“…Very well.”

Mu Xueshi struggled to climb down.

The Third Prince carefully helped him to the ground. His legs felt weak at once, but he forced himself to walk steadily toward Mo Ru.

A vicious expression appeared on his face.

“Spare me,” Mo Ru pleaded earnestly.

“I only devised this method to strengthen the bond between Young Master Xue and the Third Prince. My intentions were truly sincere! Heaven is my witness!”

Two seconds passed.

Then Mu Xueshi’s expression suddenly changed.

He shouted at Mo Ru:

“From today until the fifteenth of next month, you are not allowed to sleep at night! Every evening you will stand in the courtyard grass and reflect on your mistakes until morning!”

Then he burst out laughing.

The moment he finished speaking, Mu Xueshi felt an immense sense of relief.

His mood brightened instantly, turning completely around compared to moments ago.

Toward Mo Ru, he felt both gratitude and resentment.

Gratitude—because Mo Ru had told the truth in time. Otherwise Mu Xueshi would have continued drowning in guilt.

Resentment—because Mo Ru’s original deception had cost him several sleepless nights.

Just as suddenly as everything had turned around, exhaustion crashed down upon him.

As Mu Xueshi turned away, his eyelids began fighting each other.

All the energy that had sustained him earlier vanished in an instant.

He walked straight to the bed, collapsed onto it without even adjusting his posture—

And immediately fell into deep sleep.

Mo Ru was overjoyed.

He had originally thought he would suffer a terrible punishment. Instead, he had gotten off unbelievably lightly.

Not daring to reveal his delight, he slammed his head repeatedly against the floor and cried dramatically:

“Thank you, Young Master Xue, for granting punishment! Thank you, Third Prince!”

Sun Ye’s face had turned black with anger.

His fists clenched tightly, as if he wished nothing more than to spill Mo Ru’s blood on the spot.

Recently Mo Ru had been sneaking into the courtyard at night again and again, acting suspiciously. Every time Sun Ye caught him, the man shamelessly refused to leave.

Mu Xueshi’s punishment was practically a reward.

Dragging Mo Ru out of the Third Prince’s inner chamber, Sun Ye said nothing.

Mo Ru cleared his throat and revealed a smug smile.

Finally reaching the limit of his patience, Sun Ye suddenly drew his sword and thrust it straight into Mo Ru’s chest.

Mo Ru did not dodge.

The blade pierced about an inch into his flesh, and blood immediately flowed out.

Sun Ye froze in shock and quickly withdrew the sword.

“Why didn’t you dodge?”

Sun Ye knew very well that although he had only fought Mo Ru once, the man’s martial skill was no weaker than his own.

Mo Ru touched the blood on his chest.

Then, with a wicked grin, he said to Sun Ye:

“I would rather be wounded by you than disobey you.”

“Otherwise, I could have escaped from your grasp long before entering the Third Prince’s chamber.”

Sun Ye stood stunned.

And in the brief moment his thoughts faltered—

Mo Ru had already leapt away, disappearing beyond the courtyard walls.

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