Futile Devices Scans

“Then what is there to fear? Tell me. I’d like to hear it.” The Third Prince pulled Mu Xueshi into his arms.

Mu Xueshi rattled off a long string of nonsense that sounded like a tongue twister. When he finally finished, he raised his head, looked into the Third Prince’s icy eyes, lazily narrowed his own eyes, and told him, “I’m done.”

The Third Prince asked, “What did you say?”

Mu Xueshi stuck out his tongue. “If you didn’t hear it clearly, forget it.”

“Mm?” The Third Prince slipped his hand beneath Mu Xueshi’s waist and slightly lifted it, clearly preparing to spank him.

Mu Xueshi immediately retreated, only to be pulled right back into the Third Prince’s embrace.

Mu Xueshi’s breathing gradually became hurried again. The sweetness left unfinished that afternoon had now been stirred up once more. He arched his waist slightly and reached to undo the Third Prince’s clothing.

“What are you doing?” the Third Prince asked calmly.

Mu Xueshi lowered his head without answering, but his hands stubbornly clutched at the Third Prince’s clothes, trying to pull them off.

The Third Prince lifted Mu Xueshi’s chin, forcing his face upward as he quietly studied him.

That soft, creamy-smooth face was flawless in every way, except for the faint bruise hidden beneath his bangs on his forehead. His gem-like eyes, brilliant and shimmering with light, stared back at the Third Prince now with a trace of urgency and a hint of stubbornness.

This person was no longer merely the astonishingly beautiful youth the Third Prince had first met.

He possessed a purity that reached into the bones, along with an indescribable charm.

Sometimes clumsy, sometimes mischievously clever.

Give him a little sweetness and he could be coaxed away so easily, yet hurt him once and he would carefully retreat back into his shell, refusing to emerge for a long time.

Such a person looked simple and straightforward, yet endlessly gave people headaches.

He always seemed like a blank sheet of paper, but every so often one would discover tiny hidden embellishments overlooked before.

He could bring surprise and worry at the same time, because just when one believed they had fully understood him, they would realize they were still wandering one step away.

Such a person was ordinary, yet also very special.

“I’m asking you—what exactly are you trying to do?” The Third Prince pulled Mu Xueshi’s face closer again.

Mu Xueshi blushed.

“To finish what we didn’t finish this afternoon.”

The Third Prince seized Mu Xueshi’s soft hands and pinned them against his chest as he narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t remember us doing anything this afternoon.”

“You may not remember, but I do.” Mu Xueshi’s hand slid teasingly down the Third Prince’s leg.

Mu Xueshi’s skin was as smooth as silk satin. The moment the Third Prince’s leg brushed against it, he became reluctant to pull away.

Yet in order to pry the truth from Mu Xueshi’s mouth, the Third Prince had to restrain himself with all his strength.

“If you refuse to tell me why you don’t want me to go, then tonight you’re getting nothing.” The Third Prince’s face remained merciless.

Mu Xueshi bit his lip and glared fiercely at the corner of the blanket. Suddenly inspiration struck him. He raised his head and flashed the Third Prince a wicked grin.

“That’s fine. I’ll be the one giving it to you tonight. It’s about time I properly pampered you for once.”

Though the Third Prince claimed he would not give him anything, his hands still deliberately drifted toward Mu Xueshi’s most sensitive places.

At last, defeat appeared on Mu Xueshi’s breathtakingly beautiful face.

“What if I never return there again? Would you still ask about my past?” Mu Xueshi struggled desperately one final time.

The Third Prince’s indifferent expression gave him the clearest answer possible.

Mu Xueshi sighed deeply and said irritably, “Why are you so determined to know about my past? If my past had been glorious and impressive, I would have bragged about it long ago. Back then I was someone nobody liked, and I was ugly too. The last time I told you I looked like someone poisoned beyond recognition, I wasn’t joking. I meant it seriously.”

“That’s all?” The Third Prince clearly did not think much of it.

Mu Xueshi added, “I had no friends, and hardly anyone liked me.”

The Third Prince continued asking questions while Mu Xueshi rambled endlessly. Yet no matter how much he said, he could not provoke the slightest reaction from the Third Prince.

It was as if all the things Mu Xueshi considered shameful and taboo meant absolutely nothing in the Third Prince’s eyes.

On the contrary, the Third Prince felt that the things from his own past were what should truly remain unspoken before Mu Xueshi.

The two lay there for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, until Mu Xueshi suddenly spoke.

“I’m not planning to go back anymore. Tomorrow we’ll inspect the terrain ourselves and think of some solution. Once the Emperor and Emperor Hao Lin reach an agreement, we can start construction then. Otherwise, if I come up with everything beforehand and the Emperor suddenly changes his mind, wouldn’t all my effort go to waste?”

At last, the Third Prince’s eyes softened once more.

Outside the city, in a peasant household—

Sun Ye’s tall figure stood amidst a haze of mist. He poured medicine from a bundle into a cracked old bowl and slowly set it over the fire to boil.

Everywhere around him stood low mud houses, and even in the dead of night, the endless chirping of insects in the fields could still be heard.

They truly had left the city.

Only when the medicine boiled over, nearly spilling from the bowl, did Sun Ye finally return to his senses. He picked it up and carried it inside.

The room held only one bed—narrow and broken. Even turning over caused it to creak noisily.

A person lay upon the bed. Hearing movement outside, he quickly turned his face toward the doorway.

Sun Ye did not look at him. He simply placed the medicine on the table and turned to leave again.

“Are you really that unwilling to even look at me once?”

Gu Master Mo Ru’s voice sounded weak and powerless.

A feeling of irritation welled inside Sun Ye. His footsteps stopped at the doorway, yet he neither walked out nor turned back.

“Ugh…” Gu Master Mo Ru pressed a hand to his chest and let out a painful groan.

Anyone passing by unaware would probably think the owner of the house was slaughtering animals.

Sun Ye’s hand slowly clenched and loosened again. His cold gaze remained fixed outside as he said:

“I already obtained your antidote from Emperor Hao Lin. You saved me twice. This time counts as repayment. From now on, there is no longer any connection between us.”

Originally, Gu Master Mo Ru had intended to play the hero saving a beauty. He deliberately lay on the ground pretending to be gravely wounded, waiting for Sun Ye to come back and rescue him.

Yet less than fifteen minutes later, he discovered that the wound had somehow been poisoned.

The poison spread rapidly.

At first his skin merely reddened and burned, but soon unbearable itching followed. Once scratched, the flesh would ulcerate.

The poison itself did little real harm to the body, but it utterly destroyed one’s appearance.

Unfortunately, he happened to care very deeply about appearances.

A man who spent his days carefree and uninhibited, wandering through streets and alleys flirting with beauties everywhere—how could he possibly tolerate wearing such a face?

Yet he also refused to become a pawn for Emperor Hao Lin’s side.

Thus he spent his days hiding everywhere, desperately searching for an antidote, but found nothing.

That day, left with no choice, Gu Master Mo Ru had exposed himself in order to save Sun Ye. After returning, while Sun Ye remained unconscious, he hastily crafted a mask.

Yet the moment Sun Ye awoke, he forcibly ripped it off.

Gu Master Mo Ru felt that the instant his mask was removed was the most tragic moment of his entire life.

Still, he quickly adjusted.

After all, he had never maintained much of an image in Sun Ye’s eyes to begin with. Although his current appearance was, fundamentally speaking, entirely his own fault, if one thought about it generously enough, it could still be blamed on saving Sun Ye.

And Sun Ye himself clearly believed that too.

Only this way could Gu Master Mo Ru earn the maximum amount of sympathy.

Just as Sun Ye’s foot stepped toward the doorway, Gu Master Mo Ru leisurely remarked behind him:

“Commander Sun, I think your math is wrong. I saved you twice, yet you’ve only repaid me once. How can there possibly be no connection between us?”

The muscles at Sun Ye’s temples throbbed twice. A trace of impatience appeared upon his sharply sculpted face.

“What exactly do you want?”

Gu Master Mo Ru coughed softly several times before replying shamelessly:

“Nothing much. Just repay me for the remaining one.”

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