Ch8 - Two things at once

“You liar!”

“I never said I was a mute.” 

“You, you… you deliberately made me think you couldn’t speak!”

“You misunderstood without permission.”

Du Ci was squashed with no room to wiggle by Qi Nanke. He huffed and puffed angrily, “You son of a turtle!”

Qi Nanke squeezed Du Ci’s chin and raise it up, “What’s this word ‘Du’? Du is the name of the emperor of Shu Shi, and you are from Shu Shi. What is your purpose?” 

He thought for a while, then continued, “Did magistrate Kong betray the country and collude with the enemy?”

Du Ci returned with a “Bah!” His beautiful eyes glared at the man in front, “You’re asking me? Then who can I ask?!”

Qi Nanke: “What’s your relationship with the Du family?”

Du Ci, “Nothing, that’s what! I don’t even know this magistrate. Don’t randomly accuse people!”

“Then why did you hide the letter?”

“None of your business!” Du Ci kicked him, “Go away!”

He stamped countless shoe prints on Qi Nanke’s pants, but the man’s body remained unmoved. Du Ci was angered to death,”Let me go!”

Qi Nanke spoke slowly, “Either you tell the truth now, or we can go to His Majesty and talk slowly.” 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Du Ci spent so much effort to finally escape the Royal City, how could he let himself be brought back? But he also knew he wasn’t the man’s opponent, and could only compromise, “Alright, I’ll say it! Let go me first!”

Hl Rjcxf’r ugjs fsfr byrfgnfv Ge Jl ilxf tf kjr ibbxlcu ja j qgfs tf mjeuta. Llr uglqr ugjvejiis ibbrfcfv, yea tlr ybvs gfwjlcfv mibrf ab Ge Jl. Dbat bo tlr jgwr rilutais obgw jc boofcrlnf ufraegf, gfjvs ab lcafgmfqa Ge Jl’r gfrlrajcmf ja jcs wbwfca.

Ge Jl geyyfv tlr rbgf mtlc jcv rajgafv ajixlcu, “Cigluta, P’w tfgf ab vb yerlcfrr… Yk bk! P kjr pbxlcu! Jjc’a sbe ajxf j pbxf!”

Qi Nanke raised his chin, signaling Du Ci to hurry up and speak. 

Du Ci: “…I can’t say it.”

Qi Nanke was about to take action again, but then he heard Du Ci say: “You are an ordinary person. Even if I tell you, what can you do? How about this? You, become my bodyguard and follow me to find the marshall general. He will surely know what to do.”

Du Ci pushed Qi Nanke’s hands away, “I didn’t expect you to be so loyal and patriotic. I can’t fight against you anyway. If you follow me, you will be able to gain merits and keep tabs on me, killing two birds with one stone!”

Qi Nanke stared at him, “You want to look for Qi Nanke?” 

Du Ci hummed in agreement.

Qi Nanke, “How do you know he will believe you?”

Du Ci got smug for no reason, “He is my man! If he doesn’t believe me, who will he believe?”

Qi Nanke’s thoughts became a little chaotic. He felt this little prince shouldn’t be underestimated. Sometimes, he showed a deep scheming mind, and yet sometimes, he looked like a naive fool. 

He was simply unpredictable.

But Qi Nanke only pondered this for a moment, “Alright, I will accompany you to find him, but you still have to tell me one thing first.”

Du Ci looked at him, “What?”

“Who are you? If you don’t tell me, I won’t believe even half a word you said.” 

Du Ci frowned, “Then who are you? Why should I trust you?”

Qi Nanke folded his arms, his fingers tapping rhythmically a few times, “My name is Qingjun. My ancestor was a merchant in Wuse City.”

“Qingjun?” Du Ci evaluated the person in front of him, “Don’t you think you’re too dark to be called pure?”

Qi Nanke: “…” 

Qi Nanke swallow something back and reminded Du Ci, “It’s your turn.”

“How do I know if you have spoken the truth ?” Du Ci said, “I can also say I’m a merchant, isn’t that right?”

Qi Nanke reached out and grabbed Du Ci’s chin again. His skin felt smooth and tender to the touch, very good for pinching, so unlike the soldiers fighting at the border all year round.

Truly a young master raised in gold and jade. 

Qi Nanke’s eyes sank a little. He actually thought that this cute little prince looked quite appetizing.

Du Ci screamed, “Ow ow, now you’re just forcing people!”

Qi Nanke stared at him for a long while, then said, “My ancestor was really a merchant. He sells fish for a business.”

Du Ci glared, “Like hell I’d believe that, which part of you looks like a fish seller? The other two brutes even called you young master? Does your family sell gold-plated fish? 

“My ancestors really started out as fish merchants, then they learned to build ships and became shipwrights,” Qi Nanke said, “If you don’t believe it, I’ll give you this.”

Qi Nanke took a jade pendant from his sleeves and threw it to Du Ci, “Take this to Wuse city anytime and show it to the local boatmen. They will guide you.”

Du Ci scrutinized the jade pendant in his hand. The jade pendant looked very old and couldn’t be something from recent years. Its surface felt round and smooth but the color was a little murky, as though it carried a heavy accumulation of time inside. However, the chain around the jade pendant was relatively new. It seemed that the chain was changed routinely. This big man must be very protective of this thing.

This jade wasn’t made of good material and wouldn’t be worth a lot of money in pawn shops. The word “Boat” was engraved on both the front and back, proving he didn’t lie. 

Du Ci flipped it back and forth for a long time, then reluctantly accepted it and said, “You can just call me Baoyu.”

Qi Nanke raised his eyebrows, “Baoyu?”

Du Ci said: “I haven’t reached crowning age, so I don’t have a courtesy name yet. This is my… nickname, only my parents can call me that.”

Qi Nanke nodded and mumbled, “Baoyu, Baoyu.” 

He repeated it over and over. It sounded so much like a lover’s whispers that it made Du Ci feel embarrassed just by hearing it.

“I know a bigwig in Royal City. You don’t need to ask which one because I can’t say it.” Du Ci thought for a while, then continued, “I was entrusted to do something, and that something may have something to do with this letter, that is all.”

Qi Nanke looked at him deeply: “Didn’t you tell me it was to find your man?”

“Of course my man must also be found!” Du Ci said, “It’s two things at once!” 

Qi Nanke was a little stunned, “Two things at once?” A secret matter concerned the country’s future was actually mixed with looking for a man. Two things at once, he said?