Chapter 79: The Free and Easy Young Marquis (12)
“Yi’er, you must be careful on this trip. Safety first.” The Eldest Princess looked at the face before her, which was clearly familiar yet extremely strange, and instructed him again.
Huo Xian was not impatient and earnestly replied, “Mom, don’t worry. Dad and I will both come back safely to see you.”
The Eldest Princess’s lips moved, and tears shimmered in her eyes, but she held them back.
Her gaze swept over Qingzhu and Huo Yuan, who also had new looks. Qingzhu was fine; he had served by Huo Xian’s side since childhood and knew martial arts. The Eldest Princess felt somewhat assured having him there. But what about Huo Yuan?
Huo Xian had nominally given Huo Yuan the title of book boy, but no matter how the Eldest Princess looked—up, down, left, or right—Huo Yuan didn’t look like someone who could be a book boy. Even that innate nobility about him bore absolutely no trace of a beggar. If Marquis Huo hadn’t verified that there really was a beggar named Ugly Monster with a birthmark covering his face, she would have suspected Huo Yuan was an imposter.
“Mom, don’t underestimate Huo Yuan,” Huo Xian said vaguely, seeing the doubt and shallow worry in the Eldest Princess’s eyes.
Huo Yuan didn’t understand why Huo Xian suddenly said that. He just thought the Eldest Princess was worried about Huo Yuan, so he said, “I will protect Huo… the Little Marquis well.” He still wasn’t quite used to calling Huo Xian by other names.
The Eldest Princess: “……” Actually, it wasn’t the first time she heard Huo Yuan call her son Huo Xian. And, she really didn’t understand how Huo Yuan, with his thin arms and legs and a small frame with no meat on it, could protect Huo Xian.
Huo Xian couldn’t exactly say that bringing Huo Yuan was equivalent to bringing a mobile database. Moreover, Huo Yuan only looked thin right now; his body was healthy. If someone really provoked him and he used his power regardless of the consequences, he could flip the whole world over.
After the three of them reached a town, in disguise, they broke away from the main group and headed northwest. At dusk, they found an inn to stay at, only to see a familiar figure as soon as they entered the door.
Ning Chen.
Seeing the three of them, Ning Chen: “…???”
At this moment, all three wore makeup. Huo Xian was made up as a middle-aged man with a beard and impressive bearing. Huo Yuan’s skin was much darker, looking like a teenager serving as a page boy. Qingzhu had gone from single eyelids to double eyelids… The three still had their original brows and eyes, but one just couldn’t match them to their original appearances.
“…Huo?” Ning Chen opened his mouth, disbelief on his face, even doubting his own eyes.
Huo Xian asked, “Why are you here?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ning Chen sucked in a breath of cold air. His eyes widened as round as a hamster’s. It took him a while to react: “Could this be the disguise technique used by martial artists in storybooks?”
Huo Xian looked at him like he was an idiot and said coolly, “Read fewer storybooks.”
Huo Yuan followed up with a meme: “Read more books.”
Ning Chen: “…………”
After they sat down, Huo Yuan started ordering food on his own. Ancient inns and restaurants weren’t like modern ones with menus to choose from; menus hanging on the wall were only for larger restaurants. Right now…
“Bring one serving of every dish your chef is good at.” Huo Yuan knew the Eldest Princess had stuffed Huo Xian with a lot of banknotes before leaving, and Huo Xian had promised him he could be picky with food.
“All, all of them?” The waiter was about to write down the dish names when he almost bit his tongue hearing the words. “Sir, you might not know, but our master chef’s skills are famous for ten miles around. He has quite a few specialties.”
“Then pick a few of the most famous ones. Hmm… bring eight dishes.” Ning Chen clearly understood the market better than Huo Yuan. He chose to wait for Huo Xian at this inn precisely because it was the most famous and largest one locally; given Huo Xian’s status, he wouldn’t look at small inns.
“Alright! Sirs, please wait a moment.” The waiter ran happily to the kitchen.
As the sky grew dark, travelers stopping for lodging and food trickled into the shop. Before long, the atmosphere warmed up.
Huo Xian’s table was relatively secluded. However, for safety, Ning Chen still whispered, “How should I address you outside? And does my appearance need some changing too?”
“You haven’t answered me yet. Why are you here?” Huo Xian asked.
Ning Chen flicked his folding fan open, fanned himself, and raised a wicked smile, lowering his voice: “I’ve known you for so long; could I not understand you at all? Uncle’s trip is dangerous. I don’t believe you, as his son, would remain indifferent.”
So, he rushed back to his residence, grabbed two sets of clothes and some silver, and hurried northwest. Pity him; he barely warmed the chair at home before rushing about again. Although he couldn’t avoid a beating from his father upon returning, who asked Huo Xian to be his good friend? He couldn’t just turn a blind eye. Besides, he was very curious about what method Huo Xian had to save Marquis Huo.
Huo Xian’s mood was slightly subtle. In the previous two worlds, the original host didn’t have a single good friend. He didn’t expect to have a “bro” in this world. It was quite novel.
Huo Yuan hesitated to speak.
Ning Chen saw he wanted to say something and asked with a smile, “Little…” He was just about to shout “Little Treasure” but suddenly felt a sharp gaze scrape past like a knife. He shivered instantly and quickly changed his tune: “Master Huo, I still don’t know the name of your page boy.”
“Huo Yuan.” Huo Xian gave him a cool look.
Ning Chen pretended not to see it and asked with a smile, “Little Brother Huo Yuan, is there something you want to say?”
Huo Yuan paused, then corrected him seriously: “I’m not your brother. Also, what I wanted to say is: It’s so cold, yet you keep fanning yourself with that fan. Aren’t you cold?”
Ning Chen: “……”
“Pfft…” Qingzhu couldn’t hold it back and laughed out loud, then quickly adjusted his expression.
Ning Chen: “……”
Huo Xian also slowly stabbed him with a knife: “Scholars don’t fan themselves in winter. Only fools do that.”
Ning Chen: “…………” Why is acting cool so hard?
Nothing happened during the night.
When they set off again, the group had grown from three to four. Ning Chen also mooched some makeup while Huo Yuan was applying it to Huo Xian. Although Huo Yuan lacked experience, his hands-on ability was not weak. Perhaps this was the awesomeness of a high-dimensional consciousness; not only could he perfectly replicate video tutorial content with incomplete materials, but he could also infer other things from one instance. Even Huo Xian would praise him upon seeing it.
Among the four, if anyone was the most emotional, it was undoubtedly Qingzhu. The reason? Huo Xian and Huo Yuan stayed! In! The! Same! Room!
previously at the Princess’s residence, to prevent the Eldest Princess from finding it unacceptable and breaking up the “mandarin ducks,” Huo Yuan stayed in a wing with an independent courtyard, while Huo Xian stayed in the original host’s courtyard. Although Qingzhu felt his young master had a strange fondness for Huo Yuan, he never expected this “fondness” to extend to sleeping in the same room. A room with only one bed!
His young master didn’t even sleep in the same bed as Master Ning, with whom he had such a good relationship. Why could Huo Yuan sleep with the Young Master? No, no, absolutely not sleeping together. The Heaven-grade room had a soft couch; Huo Yuan definitely slept on the soft couch!
“That quilt yesterday was too small. And it seemed like it hadn’t been aired in a long time; it was a bit damp and uncomfortable to sleep in. We should bring our own when traveling in the future.” Huo Yuan rode a horse—horsemanship he had just learned—while exchanging thoughts on last night’s sleep with Huo Xian.
In the last world, Huo Xian often took him traveling. Heavy bedding wasn’t convenient to carry, but bedsheets and duvet covers were always on hand.
Qingzhu, unintentionally stabbed in the heart, nearly fell off his horse, his jaw practically dropping to the ground.
Huo Xian glanced lightly at Qingzhu, then swept a look at Ning Chen, whose slight surprise was quickly replaced by amusement. He spoke gently to Huo Yuan: “Next time we travel, we’ll take a carriage. We can pack more things.” As he spoke, he reached out, tidied the hair at Huo Yuan’s temples, touched his face, and asked, “Cold?”
Huo Yuan shook his head. His constitution had been upgraded with points, so he wasn’t afraid of the cold. Plus, he was dressed warmly, so naturally, he wasn’t cold. He looked up at the somewhat gloomy sky and said, “Huo Xian, we have to hurry and find a place to stay. It’s going to snow soon.”
Huo Xian didn’t doubt him. He said to Ning Chen and Qingzhu, “Let’s go.”
Qingzhu didn’t dare question and silently agreed. Ning Chen, however, asked with interest, “Huo Yuan can read the celestial signs?”
“Clouds match the sky above; rain and snow fall in confusion.” Huo Yuan used a proverb.
Ning Chen looked up at the sky. The weather today was cold and gloomy. There were many clouds, appearing as if right above their heads, continuous and covering the entire sky overhead… It did look somewhat ominous.
Just as he wanted to ask more, he found that Huo Xian had already led Huo Yuan away, leaving him a receding view of their backs.
Ning Chen: “……” Bros before h… wait, that seems to be a guy too.
Ahead, Huo Yuan and Huo Xian didn’t stop communicating. Huo Yuan said, “Huo Xian, the roads now are still dirt roads, even the official ones. Travel is difficult in rainy or snowy weather. We could promote cement roads.”
“No rush for that,” Huo Xian said. “The urgent task is to pull my dad back from the line of death.”
“But even if we rush to Liangzhou first, we don’t know the terrain of Black Wind Mountain. The forest below has poisonous miasma. Going there rashly is also dangerous,” Huo Yuan said.
Huo Xian was silent for a moment, then said, “Yuanyuan, the wind is strong. Don’t talk for now.”
Riding at full speed indeed wasn’t the best time for conversation.
Snow finally fell just as the four found a broken temple.
Ning Chen cupped his hands toward Huo Yuan teasingly: “Young Master Huo, I admire you, I admire you.”
Huo Yuan mimicked his movement: “You’re too kind, too kind.”
Ning Chen: “……”
Huo Xian almost fell over laughing at Huo Yuan’s words. He quickly dismounted and reached out to Huo Yuan, calling gently, “Yuanyuan.”
Huo Yuan couldn’t understand Ning Chen’s expression. He planned to make a note and ask Huo Xian later. Since Huo Xian reached out, he obediently placed his hand in his, allowing Huo Xian to lift him off the horse.
Qingzhu’s face was a picture of desolation. Inside, he screamed: Princess, Marquis, come quickly and manage the Young Marquis! The Young Marquis seems to have tendencies of the cut sleeve (homosexuality)!!!
Leaving aside whether the Eldest Princess and the Marquis could hear his thoughts, Ning Chen had absolutely no such reservations. “Huo Xian, I was wondering why you lived like a monk even though you’re almost of age. Turns out you don’t like women!”
“You have an opinion?” Huo Xian asked back with a fake smile.
Ning Chen waved his hand. “Not really. I’m not the Eldest Princess or Marquis Huo.” Pausing here, his expression turned a bit serious: “Have you informed the Eldest Princess and Marquis Huo about this?”
Huo Xian threw the reins to Qingzhu and said lightly, “Not yet.”
Ning Chen raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose lightly. “My dad scolds me all day for drinking and playing around without being proper, but at least I’m willing to marry and have children to continue the bloodline in the future. You being like this… aren’t you afraid the Eldest Princess and Marquis Huo will skin you alive?”
Hearing the worry in his words, Huo Xian hooked the corner of his lips and said, “They won’t be able to bear it. Don’t worry.”
Ning Chen: “……” What was there to not worry about? He didn’t want to collect Huo Xian’s corpse one day!
The four entered the broken temple, which leaked wind but could block the snow. Perhaps because people came here often, there was some dry firewood in the temple to make a fire.
However, before the fire could be lit, a string of footsteps came from outside, accompanied by a man’s cursing voice: “Old Four, do you know the damn way or not? I’m going to take the dog head of that Huo Prince Consort or whatever, not let you lead me in circles in the mountains!”
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