Futile Devices Scans

“Your Highness, when do you plan to return to the palace?”

Most of the Third Prince’s wounds had already been treated, and the medicinal herbs had been applied. Only the bandaging remained. Li Qian brought over a thick roll of medicinal cloth, sat beside the Third Prince, and prepared to wrap several layers around him.

“Don’t make it too obvious,” the Third Prince instructed.

Li Qian paused briefly, but still followed the Third Prince’s instructions.

The Third Prince then said to Su Ruhan, “We must leave early tomorrow morning and return to the palace. So much happened yesterday that the palace must already be in chaos. It would be better to go back and help deal with things. Besides, the envoy I sent to investigate the borderlands will arrive tomorrow, and I need to meet with him. As for General Xiao, I believe Father Emperor has already become suspicious of him. For now, we should not expose him.”

“That’s right,” Su Ruhan agreed. “After all, people’s hearts are unstable right now, and General Xiao still controls considerable military power. I doubt he would foolishly rebel at this point. He would likely wait until Lubei gains the upper hand before taking advantage of the situation.”

The Third Prince nodded, his gaze growing colder.

After remaining silent for a while, Su Ruhan asked again, “Then what about Xueshi? What do you plan to do?”

“For now, let him stay here. Shangchuan Hong discovered our hiding place, so Hao Lin will definitely set up ambushes nearby. Fortunately, the Ice-Fire Cave is filled with mechanisms and traps, so it’s still relatively safe. While I’m away these next few days, make sure to keep a close eye on Xueshi and don’t let him run around recklessly.”

Su Ruhan nodded. “I’ll pay close attention to any changes around here. If anyone tries to sneak nearby, I’ll kill them immediately.”

By this point, the Third Prince’s wounds had been fully bandaged. Outside, the night had grown darker, and laughter drifted in from the cave entrance—mostly Liehuo’s voice, as usual.

The Third Prince planned to wake Mu Xueshi and have him eat something first, so he turned and headed toward the cave where Mu Xueshi was sleeping.

Mu Xueshi had completely wrapped himself in the blanket, curled into a tight ball, even his head hidden beneath the covers.

The Third Prince gently tugged the blanket away. Mu Xueshi kept his eyes shut, seemingly still asleep. The Third Prince watched him quietly for a while before stroking his face and saying, “Go eat something.”

“I’m not hungry,” Mu Xueshi replied gloomily.

The Third Prince was slightly surprised. Before falling asleep, Mu Xueshi had been excitedly talking about roasting wild birds with everyone after he woke up. Why had he become so depressed after only one nap?

The Third Prince said nothing further and simply turned to leave.

Mu Xueshi felt miserable inside. He knew he should not be giving the Third Prince the cold shoulder, but the truth was that he simply had no appetite. He could avoid bringing up what he had just seen, but pretending he had seen nothing at all was something he could not do.

Feeling stifled, Mu Xueshi took a deep breath and finally sat up.

The Third Prince stepped outside and looked at Liehuo and Hanbing. “Did Xueshi come out of the cave earlier?”

Liehuo shook his head. “No.” Then he handed the skewer of roasted squab in his hand to Hanbing with a grin. “Little Brother, try this. I just finished roasting it.”

“You should keep it for yourself,” Hanbing replied indifferently. “The things you roast are either undercooked or burnt. You spend all your time looking around and chatting nonsense—how could you possibly roast anything properly?”

Liehuo immediately became anxious. “I already ate all the bad ones myself! This skewer was the one I roasted most carefully, especially for Little Brother, and Little Brother still won’t appreciate it.”

Hanbing remained completely unmoved, calmly continuing to roast the food in his own hands. Liehuo sulked at the side for a while before eventually stuffing the meat into his own mouth in large bites, grumbling all the while.

The two brothers completely ignored the Third Prince’s existence, immersed in their own little world. They spoke about simple things they discussed every day and repeated the same familiar routines, yet never grew tired of it. Because they had been isolated from the outside world for so long, their personalities and way of interacting still resembled children. They argued often, and in the end, Liehuo was always the one who compromised.

The Third Prince suddenly thought of himself and Mu Xueshi. If they too could find a secluded place somewhere, with no one else around and only each other for company, how wonderful that would be…

As he turned back, he saw Mu Xueshi emerging from the cave. Mu Xueshi looked at him for a while, though his spirits still seemed poor.

“Since you’re awake, why not go outside and eat with them?” the Third Prince asked.

Mu Xueshi replied hoarsely, “My face…”

Only then did the Third Prince realize Mu Xueshi was asking whether he should cover his face again. He had probably taken the Third Prince’s earlier words to heart, worried that the Third Prince might not want others to see his appearance, so he had come to ask for permission.

Seeing Mu Xueshi’s low mood, the Third Prince did not want to cast another shadow over him, so he said, “There’s no need. There are no outsiders here. It’s fine if you want to relax a little.”

“Oh…” Mu Xueshi lowered his head and walked past the Third Prince.

The moment Mu Xueshi stepped outside, however, the Third Prince regretted it.

Aside from Su Ruhan, the remaining three people all stared at Mu Xueshi in astonishment. Even Li Qian, who was usually aloof and cold, found it difficult to look away from Mu Xueshi at this moment. As for Liehuo, he stood there dumbfounded, completely unaware that the meat skewer in his hand had already begun to burn.

After a long while, the Third Prince walked over and pulled Mu Xueshi aside.

“Is that little black chimpanzee?” Liehuo asked Hanbing beside him.

Hanbing had also been momentarily dazed earlier. Only after hearing Liehuo’s question did he regain his senses and reply, “Of course it is. Didn’t he say last time that his face had been poisoned?”

Liehuo seemed to understand for a moment before becoming confused again. “Then why do I feel like he changes appearance every time I see him? I remember when the Third Prince first brought him here to summon souls, he didn’t look like this either.”

Hanbing ignored Liehuo and continued focusing on what he was doing.

Suddenly, Liehuo’s face turned red, and he shot Hanbing a fierce look.

“Have you taken a liking to that little brat? The way you looked at him earlier was obviously strange. And now you won’t even pay attention to me anymore, right?!”

A trace of irritation appeared on Hanbing’s usually cold face. Turning his head toward Liehuo, he said, “I think the one with improper thoughts is you.”

After saying that, Hanbing completely walked away from Liehuo’s side.

Liehuo kicked over all the racks he had set up in front of him, and even stomped viciously on the burnt piece of roasted bird meat lying on the ground. Only after Hanbing had completely disappeared from sight did Liehuo finally stop.

Not long after, the redness on his face faded back to normal, and his tightly clenched fists slowly relaxed. In the end, Liehuo could not suppress the worry in his heart. Wearing an awkward expression, he walked past the others and dejectedly headed in the direction Hanbing had left.

The Third Prince picked up a skewer of roasted red-winged magpies and held it out in front of Mu Xueshi. He had just taken it from Su Ruhan and Li Qian. It had been roasted to perfection—crispy outside, tender inside, and richly fragrant.

If Mu Xueshi had seen it before sleeping, he would definitely have drooled over it. But now, nothing seemed appetizing to him. Still, unwilling to reject the Third Prince’s kindness, he accepted it and slowly brought it to his mouth.

“What’s wrong?” the Third Prince asked Mu Xueshi.

Mu Xueshi shook his head, staring blankly at the patch of empty grass ahead as his thoughts drifted. Suddenly, his head was firmly turned back. Lifting his eyelids, he saw the Third Prince’s displeased expression.

“It’s just that I feel a little unwell.” Mu Xueshi forced out a smile uglier than crying and said to the Third Prince, “I caught a chill while sleeping earlier.”

If this had been in the past, the Third Prince would definitely have interrogated and threatened him until he told the truth. But now, he suddenly could not bring himself to be so harsh. Seeing that Mu Xueshi did not want to speak, the Third Prince released him, turned his head away with a cold expression, and no longer looked at him.

Liehuo and Hanbing were gone now, while Su Ruhan and Li Qian chatted and laughed together. Only this corner remained filled with a suffocating silence.

Mu Xueshi could not help turning to look at the Third Prince. He was personally roasting a red-headed oriole. The faint firelight illuminated the side of his face, outlining those perfect features so beautifully that they seemed almost dreamlike. Once again, Mu Xueshi found himself marveling at how pleasing the Third Prince looked no matter what he did. No matter what expression crossed his face, it always stole one’s breath away.

He stared blankly for a long time before realizing the Third Prince had stopped moving. The Third Prince removed the roasted red-headed oriole from the rack, carefully wiped away the ashes with a clean silk cloth, then gently blew on it for quite a while until all the steam had dispersed.

Mu Xueshi suddenly realized he had regained his appetite—and specifically for the red-headed oriole in the Third Prince’s hand. But he did not know how to ask for it. After all, when the Third Prince had offered him food earlier, he had insisted he was not hungry.

Suddenly, the skewer of red-headed oriole slowly moved toward the Third Prince’s own lips.

Mu Xueshi immediately deflated like a punctured balloon. The little bit of energy he had recovered vanished at once, and his face fell again.

A smile curved at the corners of the Third Prince’s lips. He moved the delicious food away from his own mouth and held it before Mu Xueshi instead.

Mu Xueshi’s eyes instantly lit up. Without another word, he grabbed it and brought it to his mouth. Food roasted by the Third Prince truly tasted different from anyone else’s. Mu Xueshi discovered that no matter how bad his mood was, he could still eat it with relish. After eating more than half, he finally remembered that the Third Prince himself had not eaten yet. Turning around, he saw him placing another wild bird onto the rack to roast.

“Let me do it.” Mu Xueshi leaned closer, reaching for the bamboo skewer in the Third Prince’s hand.

The Third Prince did not let go, calmly continuing what he was doing as if he had not heard anything.

The delicious taste in Mu Xueshi’s mouth suddenly became hard to swallow. He shifted his backside on purpose, inching closer toward the Third Prince. Yet the Third Prince remained unmoved, neither welcoming nor rejecting him.

Eventually, Mu Xueshi scooted close enough that they were pressed right beside each other.

“Let me do it.” Mu Xueshi reached out again for the bamboo skewer.

This time, the Third Prince deliberately moved it away, making it obvious he was refusing the gesture.

Mu Xueshi began to lose confidence. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, he said to the Third Prince, “Could you at least say something to me?”

The Third Prince remained silent.

Pulling a pitiful face, Mu Xueshi tugged at the Third Prince’s sleeve and said, “Then at least look at me.”

The Third Prince still did not turn his head.

At last, Mu Xueshi surrendered. Pouting, he said to the Third Prince, “I secretly watched Li Qian apply medicine to your wounds, and seeing how badly you were hurt made me upset. I’m not angry that you hid it from me—I just genuinely can’t feel happy. Look, I already ate what you roasted. So could you please do me the honor of letting me roast one for you? Consider it me taking care of the wounded.”

Only then did the Third Prince’s expression finally soften slightly. Turning to look at Mu Xueshi, he explained, “Your injuries and mine are not the same. I’ve practiced martial arts for many years. This kind of minor wound is nothing to me.”

“But it still hurts!”

That was exactly what upset Mu Xueshi most. He remembered seeing people in hospitals after surgery back in his old world—once the anesthesia wore off, they would cry and scream from the pain. Yet the Third Prince had such a massive wound and no anesthesia at all.

Seeing the heartbroken look on Mu Xueshi’s face, warmth spread through the Third Prince’s heart. He pinched Mu Xueshi’s cheek lightly and coaxed him, “I don’t feel pain. I can use my internal energy to suppress it.”

“Really?” Mu Xueshi widened his eyes, delight beginning to appear on his face.

The Third Prince nodded. “If you don’t believe me, go ask your master.”

Mu Xueshi immediately ran excitedly over to Su Ruhan. Before long, he came running back cheerfully. The moment he sat down, he laughed loudly and grabbed the Third Prince’s arm.

“Then doesn’t that mean I can hit you whenever I want in the future?”

The Third Prince had not expected Mu Xueshi’s thoughts to go in such a bizarre direction. The gentleness on his face instantly vanished as he replied coldly, “Don’t even think about it!”

Still lost in his excitement, Mu Xueshi continued enthusiastically, “Even if I don’t hit you, I can still practice! Once I master it, your threats won’t work on me anymore.”

The Third Prince could not decide whether to laugh or cry, but he finally relaxed. Otherwise, he suspected Mu Xueshi would not regain his lively self until the wound had completely healed.

“My turn! My turn!! Let me show you my cooking skills!”

Shouting excitedly, Mu Xueshi snatched the bamboo skewer from the Third Prince’s hand and squatted beside the rack, roasting the bird with exaggerated seriousness.

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