After leaving the interrogation chamber, a sedan chair was waiting outside.
Mu Xueshi, the Third Prince, and Su Ruhan all halted their steps.
Mu Xueshi assumed the Third Prince would take the sedan, so he naturally loosened the hand the prince had been holding. Then he walked over to Su Ruhan’s side, preparing to return with him instead.
The Third Prince suddenly stopped.
Seeing this, both Mu Xueshi and Su Ruhan also stopped.
The prince turned his head and looked directly at Mu Xueshi. His gaze lingered for a long time, yet he did not say a single word.
At last Mu Xueshi broke the silence with an awkward laugh.
“Thank you…”
The Third Prince’s heart tightened inexplicably. Something about that simple “thank you” sounded unbearably distant.
Then he saw Mu Xueshi standing so close beside Su Ruhan.
Memories of things he had previously seen and heard flashed through his mind, and a nameless anger slowly rose in his chest.
“Get in the sedan,” the Third Prince ordered coldly.
Mu Xueshi’s bright eyes flickered. Pretending to sound relaxed, he said,
“Thank you, Your Highness, but there’s really no need to take care of me. I’m just a commoner—how could I share a sedan with the Third Prince? I’ll just walk back with my master…”
The Third Prince’s expression grew darker and darker.
Su Ruhan, sensing the situation, tactfully slipped away first.
By the time Mu Xueshi turned to look for him, Su Ruhan had already vanished without a trace.
“What a terrible friend…” Mu Xueshi muttered under his breath.
Seeing the dissatisfaction on Mu Xueshi’s face, the Third Prince’s expression grew colder still.
“You may walk behind the sedan if you wish,” he said icily. “But in the end, you will still return to Qinyi Courtyard.”
Mu Xueshi blinked.
“…Then I’ll get in. A free ride is a free ride… hehe.”
With that, he hurried into the sedan.
But the moment his backside touched the cushion, Mu Xueshi shot up like he had been struck by lightning. The entire sedan rocked violently.
The eight bearers were already struggling to carry two people. With Mu Xueshi flailing around inside, their faces turned red from the strain.
Seeing the Third Prince staring at him, Mu Xueshi flushed with embarrassment.
Trying to steady the sedan, he gritted his teeth and sat down again despite the pain.
But before he could fully settle—
The Third Prince suddenly lifted him into his arms.
They sat chest to chest, the prince’s arm wrapped firmly around him. Mu Xueshi’s legs rested across the prince’s lap while his hips remained suspended in the air.
That way, he wouldn’t feel the pain.
Mu Xueshi pushed lightly at the prince’s arm, his large eyes darting around uneasily.
“Isn’t this a bit strange? Being held like this feels awkward…”
The Third Prince ignored the protest.
Instead, he gently brushed his hand across Mu Xueshi’s injured backside and asked softly,
“Does it hurt?”
A sudden wave of grievance welled up in Mu Xueshi’s chest.
The scene he had seen yesterday through the window must have been real—the Third Prince had definitely witnessed Su Ruhan striking him.
Yet no matter how he had called out, the prince had ignored him.
For three days it had been the same.
Only now, when Mu Xueshi’s heart had nearly gone cold, did he finally show concern.
“It doesn’t hurt. My skin’s thick!” Mu Xueshi snapped.
The harsh lines of the Third Prince’s face softened.
The chilling aura he had carried in the court earlier vanished.
Deliberately, he pinched Mu Xueshi’s sore spot.
Mu Xueshi yelped.
“What are you doing?! Isn’t it bad enough already?” he shouted angrily.
The prince rubbed the spot gently afterward and said teasingly,
“You said it didn’t hurt.”
Mu Xueshi closed his eyes and grumbled,
“Compared to what you did, this is nothing.”
The Third Prince knew exactly what he meant.
Mu Xueshi still hadn’t let go of the punishment he had received earlier.
The thought made the prince’s expression stiffen again.
“You were the one who made the mistake,” he said coldly. “Should you not be punished?”
Mu Xueshi pulled a miserable face, sighing dramatically.
“Of course… it’s all my fault. I brought it on myself.”
“You’re the Third Prince. Being beaten and scolded by you is my great honor…”
The Third Prince looked at the person he had thought about day and night, now safe and unharmed in his arms.
The tension that had gripped his heart for days finally eased.
Mu Xueshi had clearly suffered a great deal recently. As he continued grumbling, he gradually fell asleep.
The cheek that had been slapped earlier was still slightly swollen. Together with his reddened eyes, he looked pitiful beyond words.
When they returned to the prince’s palace, the Third Prince laid Mu Xueshi on the bed.
But the moment he did—
Mu Xueshi’s eyes flew open.
He glanced around in panic before blurting out,
“I need to go back to Linhan Palace.”
“Why?” A dangerous glint appeared in the Third Prince’s eyes.
Mu Xueshi peeked at him cautiously.
“Because… I promised my master we’d roam the martial world together. We’re both people you drove away, so we’re on the same side.”
“Impossible.”
Without further explanation, the Third Prince scooped him up again and carried him toward Lingzi Lake.
Mu Xueshi struggled in his arms.
“You can’t go back on your word! Let me down—I need to find my master!”
The Third Prince suddenly stopped walking.
He stared silently at Mu Xueshi’s face.
Mu Xueshi suddenly felt nervous again.
Part of him didn’t want the prince to let go.
But another part feared hearing him agree.
The conflicting emotions left his heart hanging in suspense.
“Why do you want to leave me?” the Third Prince asked quietly.
Mu Xueshi answered without thinking.
“I don’t want to leave you. I’m just afraid you’ll drive me away again…”
The prince’s expression softened slightly.
He resumed walking.
“I won’t drive you away,” he said calmly.
Mu Xueshi felt as though his heart was being squeezed and kneaded—sometimes comforting, sometimes painful.
He stared at the prince’s face, so close to his own.
“Actually… I have a small secret to tell you. After you hear it, you can decide whether I should stay or go.”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of the Third Prince’s lips.
He clearly didn’t think much of this “secret.”
In his eyes, the things Mu Xueshi worried about were often trivial.
And the matters Mu Xueshi tried to hide—he had long since guessed.
Lingzi Lake shimmered beneath drifting mist.
Colorful vines swayed gently beneath the crystal-clear water.
Mu Xueshi hadn’t felt this comfortable in a long time.
Recently he had lived in damp rooms, slept under moldy blankets, and eaten coarse grain and wild vegetables. He had almost forgotten what comfort felt like.
“I’m hungry. When we go back, I’m going to eat a huge feast—lots and lots of pastries. I’ll eat as much as I can these next few days…”
“I’ll also go to bed early and sleep properly… on the softest bed…”
Leaning against the Third Prince, Mu Xueshi chattered endlessly while splashing the warm lake water over his body and hair.
“Why only these few days?” the Third Prince asked suddenly.
“What do you plan to do afterward?”
He subconsciously tightened his grip on Mu Xueshi’s arm, suspecting he might still be thinking about Su Ruhan.
Mu Xueshi sighed.
Looking at the prince’s face, the courage he had just gathered faded again.
“Nothing… I’m not planning anything.”
Then he hesitated before saying softly,
“Xi… don’t make my master live in such a broken place anymore. That place is filthy and smells terrible. My master is so capable—why did you demote him?”
The Third Prince slowly washed away the thin film covering Mu Xueshi’s face, revealing that breathtakingly beautiful visage beneath.
He had seen it countless times.
Yet this time, something about it stirred an unfamiliar feeling in his heart.
The cheek that had been slapped was still slightly swollen, but the mist from the lake tinted it a soft red, making the face look strangely delicate.
The prince leaned closer, intending to kiss those soft lips.
“Wait!”
Mu Xueshi suddenly raised two slender fingers and blocked his mouth.
The Third Prince lifted an eyebrow in displeasure.
But Mu Xueshi said stubbornly,
“Promise me you’ll move my master somewhere better first.”
“Su Ruhan does not normally live in Linhan Palace,” the prince replied calmly. “He wanders the world and has his own places to stay. These past few days, I merely asked him to look after you, so he temporarily stayed there.”
Seeing that Mu Xueshi still looked unconvinced, the prince ignored his hand and kissed him anyway.
Under the water, his hands began roaming boldly.
“I don’t like hearing you mention another man in front of me,” the Third Prince murmured against Mu Xueshi’s ear, gently sucking his earlobe.
Mu Xueshi’s breathing immediately grew uneven.
Trying to evade the prince’s wandering hands, he gasped,
“He’s… just… my master…”
Seeing Mu Xueshi’s flustered expression only made the prince like him more.
He kissed Mu Xueshi’s cheeks tenderly while taking out a bottle of medicine and carefully applying ointment to his injuries.
Mu Xueshi enjoyed the attention immensely.
He squinted his eyes, yawning lazily like a content little cat.
But gradually—
The Third Prince’s expression changed.
He watched as faint spots began appearing on Mu Xueshi’s flawless face.
Tiny red dots spread across his skin.
Then they slowly turned purple.
And continued spreading.
Poison.
The realization struck him like lightning.
Even his hands began trembling slightly.
Mu Xueshi also noticed something strange.
His face began itching unbearably.
He scratched at it instinctively.
The discomfort worsened.
Panicked, he looked at his reflection in the lake.
His entire face had swollen grotesquely.
He knew scratching would leave scars—but the itching was unbearable.
He clawed at his face desperately.
White fluid soon seeped from the scratches, making the entire scene horrifying.
The Third Prince immediately grabbed his hands.
But Mu Xueshi struggled wildly, nearly losing control.
The prince hurried ashore and pulled several reeds growing near the sacred waters of Lingzi Lake.
These reeds possessed medicinal properties and could counteract poison.
Crushing them quickly, he applied the pulp to Mu Xueshi’s face.
Only then did the itching begin to subside.
“What’s happening…?” Mu Xueshi murmured weakly.
“Is it an allergy? Or did I get beaten too badly earlier…?”
Regardless of the cause—
The destruction of his appearance was already a reality.
Seeing the subtle change in the Third Prince’s expression, Mu Xueshi suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
The prince’s reaction was obvious.
He cared deeply about beauty.
If someone’s appearance became too ugly—
Even a scar might be something the Third Prince could not tolerate.
Futile Devices Scans 
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