Chapter 73: The Dashing and Elegant Little Marquis (6)
The body the manager chose for Huo Yuan was a third-generation beggar. Parents beyond that were untraceable. He was sixteen this year, raised by an old beggar until he was five. Since then, he had been “supporting himself,” stumbling along until now. Over ten days ago, he was bullied by other beggars while fighting for food, pushed into a pond, caught a cold, and died without treatment.
Simply put, Huo Yuan‘s identity had absolutely nothing to do with the world line. He was an existence where one more or one less didn’t matter.
A large part of the reason Huo Yuan‘s body’s owner was ostracized was the birthmark on his face. It was a pitch-black patch, very evenly colored. Except for the whites of his eyes, even his lips were black. Without looking closely, one would think he deliberately painted his face that black.
Huo Xian’s expression was indescribable.
“Huo Xian?” Huo Yuan called out after waiting a long time for Huo Xian’s next sentence.
Huo Xian took a deep breath and asked, “Can points be used to remove the birthmark?”
“Huh?” Huo Yuan blinked, then frowned, hesitating a bit. “Use points again? After redeeming the body, I spent another 2000 points to adjust the body to a healthy state. Now there are only 980 points left. Given the Administration’s pitfall nature, removing the birthmark might use them all up.”
“Use them!” Huo Xian said without blinking.
“…I won’t have any points left after using them.” Having experienced the previous two worlds, Huo Yuan knew well the bitterness of having no points.
Huo Xian said seriously, “It doesn’t matter. Points can be earned again.” The little cutie having such a big black face… if he didn’t light a lamp at night, it might scare his soul away.
Huo Yuan stared at him for a few minutes until Huo Xian’s scalp went numb, then asked in a small voice with a hint of grievance, “Do you think I’m ugly?”
Huo Xian: “…”
It seemed the love education from the last world wasn’t in vain.
“…Yuan Yuan, I can accept you being ugly. But like this, even your features can’t be seen. To be honest, it’s a bit creepy.” Huo Xian’s tone was gentle, but his attitude was sincere.
Huo Yuan: “…”
“Gurgle…” Huo Yuan‘s stomach rumbled.
“I’ll scrub you a bit more. When the clothes come, change into them and then eat.” Feeling the skin and bones on his body, Huo Xian’s heart ached again, thinking he must get some nutritious supplements to nourish him later.
Huo Yuan obediently let him scrub. When he was a cat in the last world, he was meticulously served by Huo Xian often, so he didn’t feel like an outsider after becoming human.
The boy’s pale body, covered in many scars, turned a deep red under the hot water soak. Contrasting with his skin color was the water in the tub—as a beggar who hadn’t taken a hot bath since birth, it would be strange if less than three catties of dirt came off him.
Huo Xian changed the hot water three times in a row, scrubbing until Huo Yuan shed two layers of skin before stopping. When finished, the guards happened to deliver the clothes. He went to get them, but his steps suddenly halted when he walked behind the screen.
He saw the boy standing by the tub looking left and right, up and down at a virtual screen. After looking a few times, he muttered to himself, “It seems being whiter looks better.” After muttering, he saw Huo Xian, put away the screen, and beamed a greeting at Huo Xian: “Huo Xian, I repaired the birthmark and old scars on my body. Look, do I look white and smooth now?”
Huo Xian fell into deep thought looking at the boy before him, whose face had changed as if by plastic surgery and whose body was lustrous white like jade without a single blemish.
“Huo Xian?” Getting no response, Huo Yuan waved his hand in front of him.
Huo Xian freed a hand to grab him, took a deep breath imperceptibly, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, “Put on clothes first.” Although he had seen everything while scrubbing him earlier, he truly had no romantic thoughts then. The reason was simple: Huo Yuan was too thin, so thin it only made one’s heart ache.
Huo Yuan didn’t suspect anything and let Huo Xian help him dress while complaining, “Whole body plastic surgery costs 1000 points, but just removing the birthmark costs 800 points. The Administration is black-hearted beyond belief. I thought whole body plastic surgery was more cost-effective, so I chose whole body plastic surgery.” Pausing here, he continued carefully, “Huo Xian, I used up all the points and am 20 in debt. Will you be angry?”
Huo Xian’s hand tying the belt paused. He looked up into those clear yet slightly apprehensive eyes, his heart softening. He lowered his head, touched his forehead to the boy’s, and said gently, “Points are earned to be spent. You can spend as much as you want.”
The close distance made Huo Yuan‘s eyes go cross-eyed. Huo Xian’s breath sprayed on his face, causing the heat on his face to rise uncontrollably. His heart beat… a bit fast too. Was this the so-called heart-fluttering?
“…But, the points are gone. What if there’s nothing left to spend?” he asked seriously.
Huo Xian: “…” He admired Huo Yuan‘s ability to ruin the mood.
Seeming to sense his helplessness, Huo Yuan quickly made amends: “But it doesn’t matter. With you here, I generally don’t need to spend points.”
Huo Xian was pleased by this sentence. Stepping back a little, he pinched his nose and laughed, “Let’s go, I’ll take you to eat.”
However, when Huo Yuan, full of hope for his first formal gourmet meal with a human body, saw the clear soup and plain water in front of him, his expression cracked. He looked at Huo Xian in disbelief, his eyes seeming to accuse: Is this what you meant by taking me to taste all kinds of gourmet food?
Huo Xian explained, “Your body has suffered hunger for a long time. You can’t overeat immediately. The stomach needs an adaptation process.”
“2000 points have already adjusted my body to a healthy state,” Huo Yuan said faintly.
But you don’t look healthy at all. Huo Xian fell into thought looking at his wrist that looked like it would snap with a pinch.
In the end, Huo Xian couldn’t win against him and ordered the waiter to set up a table of food with full color, aroma, and taste.
However, although Huo Yuan pursued the food, he forgot about stomach capacity. Who could expect a perpetually starving, skinny beggar to have a large stomach capacity? He tasted a chopstick or two of every dish on the table, didn’t touch the staple food, and was already full, burping constantly.
Huo Yuan: “………………”
The cruelest thing in the world is clearly having a good appetite and desire to eat, but the body’s hardware holds you back. It’s even worse than being a cat!
Seeing this, Huo Xian couldn’t help laughing or crying, so he had to comfort him properly: “You’re still growing, your appetite will increase slowly. No rush.”
Depressed, Huo Yuan buried his head in Huo Xian’s chest—out of sight, out of mind.
So when the guard brought Zhang Hu in to report, seeing the intimate act between the two, his jaw almost dropped to the floor in fright. His mind went blank, and he forgot what he wanted to say.
Huo Yuan belatedly remembered that being human was different from being a cat. Humans knew shame and honor. Being lovey-dovey in broad daylight was disgraceful. He hurriedly withdrew from Huo Xian’s arms and moved behind him.
Emmmmmm…
Although he had rich theoretical experience in being human, it was his first time actually being human. He couldn’t disregard others’ gazes like when he was a cat. Being human required reserve.
Little did he know, one’s back is always a taboo area for martial artists. Unless it’s someone trusted, it’s impossible to let anyone get close.
“What is it?” Naturally, Huo Xian wouldn’t guard against Huo Yuan. He looked at the guard and asked, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Hu, who had chased Huo Yuan the fiercest.
Zhang Hu immediately shuddered and buried his head lower.
The guard recovered his wandering thoughts with great difficulty. He was still puzzled about Huo Yuan‘s identity but tried to remain calm on the surface. He replied, “Reporting to the Little Marquis, this subordinate has questioned Zhang Hu and the others carefully. They were indeed chasing…” He raised his eyes and peeked twice at Huo Yuan behind Huo Xian, meeting a pair of beautiful and curious phoenix eyes. He quickly withdrew his gaze and continued, “…this Young Master.”
Ancient times had no surveillance to trace sources, but as long as one had money and people, investigating clues wasn’t hard, just time-consuming.
Huo Xian had a bit of a headache. Not because Huo Yuan became a target, but did Marquis Huo’s men tracing back to Huo Yuan mean they missed the person who truly spread the rumors? He knew the mastermind was Xiao Jinli, but without proof, he couldn’t falsely accuse someone.
Fortunately, the guard quickly added that Huo Yuan wasn’t the only person being watched. Some others were personally monitored by Marquis Huo, and their movements were secretive, unlike Huo Yuan walking under the bright sun like this.
Did Huo Yuan want to walk under the bright sun? He clearly had no choice. He had the original body’s memories, but the practical operation of begging was quite difficult. Moreover, the original body was someone who would rummage through slops for food. Although Huo Yuan hadn’t been human, Huo Xian loved cleanliness and ate healthy, hygienic food. Asking him to find food in slops was making things difficult for him. So he could only beg. Sometimes he would meet one or two kind people who gave a couple of copper coins, enough to buy a clean steamed bun to fill his stomach.
Huo Xian could only say those who heard it would be sad and those who listened would weep, yet he found it inexplicably funny. It was truly hard for Huo Yuan, this real alien.
“By the way, Huo Xian, I remember something.” After listening to the guard, Huo Yuan suddenly spoke up.
“Hmm?” Huo Xian looked at him.
“Those spreading rumors were mostly beggars and unemployed hooligans. Among them was a small leader named ‘Scabby Head.’ Once when I was begging, I happened to overhear him in an alley counting silver with another person.” Huo Yuan had been truly busy these days—busy finding Huo Xian, busy suppressing rumors, and busy begging.
Huo Xian’s focus was entirely on the words “Once when I was begging,” feeling a throbbing pain in his head.
Zhang Hu, on the other hand, finally stopped acting like a statue upon hearing the name “Scabby Head.” He asked urgently, “May I ask… where did the Young Master see Scabby Head?” Only after speaking did he remember Huo Xian was the master, and hurriedly explained, “Reporting to the Little Marquis, the Marquis is sending people everywhere to search for Scabby Head.”
Hearing this, Huo Xian raised his eyebrows and asked Huo Yuan with his eyes.
Huo Yuan answered without thinking: “Piaoxiang Courtyard!”
“Piaoxiang Courtyard… a brothel?” Huo Xian narrowed his eyes.
Huo Yuan nodded like a chick pecking rice and said, “Scabby Head counted several hundred taels of silver and said he would live in Piaoxiang Courtyard from now on, sleeping with the most beautiful…”
Huo Xian covered his mouth and turned to Zhang Hu: “Take people to Piaoxiang Courtyard.”
Zhang Hu‘s gaze shifted over Huo Yuan for a moment, wanting to say Scabby Head wasn’t their mission, this Young Master was. However, meeting Huo Xian’s gaze which brooked no argument, he swallowed his words, clasped his fists in salute, and left.
After the people left, the guard hesitated in silence and inquiry for a long while. In the end, he didn’t dare ask Huo Xian who the “little beggar” really was. He tactfully took his leave, leaving the space to the two of them again.
“Huo Xian, the Xiao Jinli of this world is a very dangerous villain. You must be cautious when facing him,” Huo Yuan said seriously.
Huo Xian nodded. After a moment, a faint melancholy gathered between his brows, as if something was troubling him.
Huo Yuan thought he had a headache because Xiao Jinli was hard to deal with, so he patted his chest and guaranteed, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you. If worse comes to worst, I’ll kill him.” He was currently -20 points. With Huo Xian’s promise beforehand, he wasn’t afraid of going deeper into debt.
Huo Xian’s mouth twitched, feeling that the legal education in the first two worlds was wasted.
“I’m not worried about Xiao Jinli,” he said helplessly.
“Then what are you worried about?” Huo Yuan looked puzzled.
Huo Xian looked at him deeply and sighed suddenly: “How do I explain your identity to the original host’s parents after taking you home?” Earlier he was just focused on finding Huo Yuan quickly. Now that the person was found, he remembered the need to rationalize his identity. The Princess and Marquis Huo weren’t people easily fooled.
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