Chapter 5: Exchanging Tokens

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Originally, Qin Shou thought he had escaped the dark fate of eating chicken stewed with mushrooms. Unexpectedly, three days later at dinner, You Du went straight up the mountain to pick a basketful of poisonous mushrooms and continued stewing chicken. One disaster after another...

Inside the room, Huo Feifei, Bi Jian, and Qin Shou stared at the chicken stewed with poisonous mushrooms on the table, all terrified. Don’t ask why—if you ask, you’ll be the first to take a bite!

You Du saw the three of them tense with identical expressions and thought they were amazed by his cooking skills, proudly boasting:

“Hehe, who would’ve thought this great lord is so good at picking mushrooms and stewing chicken?”

Silence. No one responded.

The happiness on You Du’s face slowly faded into disappointment.

“That’s right, that’s right, Young Master is really amazing!” Huo Feifei habitually broke the awkward silence. But as soon as she said it, Bi Jian and Qin Shou looked at her. Her heart skipped a beat. Though she wouldn’t die from eating poisonous mushrooms, she’d surely have stomach trouble. Especially seeing Qin Shou’s once plump, radiant handsome face utterly ruined after the previous night, she hastily glanced at Bi Jian.

“Right? Jian Ren!”

Bi Jian twitched the corner of his mouth, thinking, “Good job, useless Feifei, trying to kick the ball to me.” Seeing You Du look at him, Bi Jian took the initiative and pushed the chicken stewed with poisonous mushrooms toward Qin Shou.

“The Young Master rarely cooks, so it shows how much he cares for you. You eat it!”

Qin Shou glared at Bi Jian, his face dark as ink.

“I…”

“Just eat it!”

You Du hurriedly pulled Qin Shou back.

“I like you the most!”

Qin Shou met You Du’s gaze for a moment and felt like dying. If this was the Young Master’s way of showing love, maybe he should first go to Wuzhou and ask the King of Hell to erase his name from the Book of Life and Death before facing this “love.”

Seeing Qin Shou avoiding his gaze, You Du crossed his arms.

“I know, you probably don’t like me, that’s why…”

“I’ll eat it! I like it!”

With the determination of a warrior who sets out never to return, Qin Shou took a bite. Even Bi Jian admired Qin Shou’s courage. But this time, after swallowing, Qin Shou didn’t have stomach trouble.

Because Qin Shou suddenly went black in the eyes and collapsed.

After this incident, You Du never dared to pick mushrooms on the mountain again. For several days, he stayed by Qin Shou’s bedside, watching as Qin Shou’s eye sockets grew hollow and sunken. For the first time, You Du felt a sharp pang of sadness.

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Though originally You Du saved Qin Shou because of Qin Shou’s golden collar,

after several days together, You Du realized that Qin Shou did his homework for him, coaxed him when he couldn’t sleep at night, protected him with his hand when You Du fell asleep in class, and carried him home when he didn’t want to go.

The picky eater at school who refused to eat dishes was made to swallow them by Qin Shou—even the bowl of poisonous mushrooms, which Qin Shou ate knowingly to avoid hurting You Du’s feelings. Such attentiveness...

You Du watched Qin Shou’s eyelids twitch as his eyes began to move beneath them. Remembering Huo Feifei saying Qin Shou would wake today, You Du turned and ran toward the back mountain, but forgot that his clothes were still pinned under Qin Shou.

So...

Just as You Du left, Qin Shou was mercilessly awakened. With a completely new wake-up method, after enduring You Du’s poisonous mushrooms, nothing seemed like a big deal to him anymore.

Well, who could blame him? He liked You Du. Though still young and not fully understanding what “liking” meant, he was certain he could not let You Du be unhappy. If You Du was unhappy, then he was unhappy.

So the moment Qin Shou woke, fearing danger if You Du went out alone, he followed the direction You Du had left, chasing all the way to the peach blossom forest where they first met. Petals fluttered in the air, and beneath the peach trees, You Du was wildly tossing dirt and ash.

You Du looked at the little stash of gold coins he had dug out, habitually counting them over and over—placing one down, picking up five, putting down four, again and again.

“So, I’m only worth ten gold coins in your heart?”

Suddenly, Qin Shou’s voice came from behind, and You Du nearly dropped the coins in fright. Seeing Qin Shou looking at the ten coins in his hand, You Du hurriedly explained to avoid misunderstanding.

“No, no, these coins are all saved to find my parents!”

Spur of the moment, Qin Shou paused, then realized that only Huo Feifei and Bi Jian had accompanied You Du, and suddenly understood.

“So that’s why you like my golden collar?”

Qin Shou hadn’t forgotten the hundred-pound leopard trap on their first meeting. You Du was caught off guard by Qin Shou’s truth-telling and murmured, lowering his head.

“I... I just want to know who I am, who my parents are…”

Perhaps feeling the same pain, Qin Shou recalled his own parents who died protecting him on the night their family was wiped out. He smiled gently at You Du.

“Then I’ll help you find your parents. As long as you want, I’ll always be with you!”

He took off the golden collar and slipped it onto You Du’s wrist. You Du was stunned.

“This…”

“This mechanical collar was left to me by my mother!”

Hearing “heirloom,” You Du hurried to take it off.

“No way!” Qin Shou quickly grabbed You Du, speaking seriously: “Unless one day you don’t want me anymore!”

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You Du was stunned and looked up at Qin Shou.

“I…”

“Du Du, remember, I like you, so I give this to you. I like you, so even if the mushrooms are poisonous, I’ll eat them. But I don’t like it when you’re unhappy. If you’re unhappy, I’m unhappy, so…”

“So I’ll never give it back to you!”

It was hard to say what kind of feeling this was, but You Du instinctively responded. Qin Shou smiled softly, and in that moment, the purest of feelings—childlike and sincere—took root between the two children.

Qin Shou’s hand followed the falling peach blossoms to You Du’s right eye patch. He instinctively raised his hand to brush it, but the moment his fingertips touched it, a sharp pain pierced him. A drop of blood soaked into You Du’s right eye patch.

You Du immediately tilted his head back, crying out in pain. Qin Shou was so startled he didn’t even ask questions but pushed Bi Jian, who had rushed over at the sound, aside. Bi Jian hurried forward, while Huo Feifei shot Qin Shou a fierce glare.

Qin Shou looked helpless. Huo Feifei turned just in time to see an orange king bead, corresponding to the second realm stage, flash on the bracelet around You Du’s wrist. She quickly grabbed Bi Jian.

“Don’t cause trouble! The Young Master is advancing!”

Sure enough, as soon as Huo Feifei finished speaking, the pain vanished as You Du was enveloped in a sphere of orange light. Opening his eyes within the glow, You Du saw a blazing sun floating on the surface of a sea. Yet the sunlight was not harsh but warm.

The feeling was like a mother’s embrace. Though he had never truly felt it growing up, he subconsciously remembered this sensation. You Du slowly rose and stepped onto the sea, ripples spreading in layers.

As You Du approached the blazing sun, he reached out and touched it.

The sunlight suddenly intensified, its fierce power scattering the ripples at You Du’s feet. He quickly withdrew his hand. The ripples converged and merged with the blazing light, igniting a supreme mysterious crimson flame in You Du’s palm—an exclusive flame of the sun.

The fiery red and crimson flames intertwined, illuminating You Du’s uncovered left eye, which transformed into a red pupil. A distant, affectionate voice whispered in his ear:

“Zhu’er, this is the Blazing Sun Flame your mother left for you. It is the strongest flame in the world!”

You Du was stunned, looking around for the source of the voice.

“Are you my mother?”

Within the realm of the bracelet, You Du’s heart was anxious and burning.

“Mother! Mother, are you my mother? You’re my mother, come out! Mother!”

“Zhu’er, in the future, you must use it to protect yourself well!”

The second realm stage gift was what the Queen, on her deathbed, left to protect You Du’s life. But how could the lingering will of the deceased hear Zhu You’s call? As the final echoes faded, darkness swallowed You Du.

Returning to reality, You Du collapsed into Huo Feifei’s arms and fell asleep.

...