Written by Tinalynge & Blue Jay
Edited by ONI_Ghost
Beta read by OEE
~o~
Sensing the killing intent within Jiang Yao’s words, the fat man shivered uncontrollably. He had let greed get the better of him, and he had even tried to extort a demon prince!
“Your Highness, please excuse this lowly one,” he stammered, “I was blinded by greed without knowing right from wrong.”
Jiang Yao’s eyes were still filled with hatred when he looked at the fat man. “Call me Sir Jiang while I am here,” he ordered, “and hurry up and clear a carriage for us. Bring us some congee and drinks, also a bowl of water and a small towel.”
The fat man swore at himself in his mind, but on the outside, he was full of smiles and nodded his head like a chicken pecking rice.
In a rush, one of the best carriages was emptied, and the ones who had been sitting inside moved elsewhere. Although they were cramped, none of them dared to say anything about it – the one who had taken their carriage was, after all, a very strong demon prince that had threatened to execute their entire caravan.
The moment the carriage was emptied, Jiang Yao entered with Luo Xiao in his arms. His face was pale, and he was completely unconscious.
Jiang Yao looked around the small carriage. Although it was the finest of them all, it was not luxurious. Some benches were covered in beast skins and blankets, and he gently placed Luo Xiao on one of them.
Ling Mo entered together with him but said nothing. He just sat down on the other bench and observed how Jiang Yao gently wrapped the young man up in blankets. Afterwards, Jiang Yao accepted a basin of warm water from a female member of the caravan.
He used the towel to wipe the sweat off Luo Xiao’s face before he sat down right on the floor next to the young boy. Every now and then he wiped Luo Xiao’s forehead where the sweat continued to form, but he did nothing more.
Ling Mo fumed. Not only had their trip together been spoiled by this young man tagging along, but now they were also delayed because he was so weak that he had gotten a fever from a mere cut on his arm.
Jiang Yao looked at Luo Xiao with tender eyes. He started changing the gauze on his arm. The cut was long, and it ran almost all the way from his shoulder to wrist. One could see his bone from the gash. Even Jiang Yao who was strong couldn’t help but wince when he looked at it.
He then picked up his embroidered bag and found a few medicinal pills. He ordered a new basin of water and placed the pills into the water. Medicinal scent started to permeate the entire carriage, and Ling Mo’s already ugly face turned uglier. The pills were all high-quality. If they had been given to him, then he would have been able to raise his rank, but now they were being used to wash the wound of a useless Low Earth Rank soul cultivator’s wound.
The pain from having his wound washed shook Luo Xiao awake. He felt the energy entering his wound, and slowly his muscles started to knit back together. His entire arm started healing, however, the process was so painful that the sweat on his forehead increased.
“Hold on,” Jiang Yao said gently as he used one hand to hold down Luo Xiao and the other to wash the wound.
Soon the wound had almost completely healed, leaving only a silver scar on his arm that would vanish with time.
Jiang Yao instantly regretted not having done this the moment he had been wounded, but he hadn’t taken the wound seriously. To someone like him, it was indeed not a serious wound, and it would have healed itself within moments, but Luo Xiao was different.
Luo Xiao was only a Low Earth Rank soul cultivator. He was far from being as strong as Jiang Yao, and his body was not as resilient or able to heal as fast. It was that of a mortal.
Having realized his oversight, Jiang Yao was slightly unhappy, but when he saw the surprised and puzzled expression on Luo Xiao’s face as he looked at his wounded arm. Seeing this sight, he couldn’t help but smile.
Although he had used some of his best pills, it had definitely been worth it. Ever since Luo Xiao had collapsed, he had felt completely useless.
“Sleep a little,” Jiang Yao said gently to Luo Xiao as he rubbed his head with his warm hand. “You need to get as much rest as possible to fully heal. Although the pills have helped, your body was strained in the process. I will go get you some food.”
Luo Xiao was indeed very tired. The hand which rubbed his head felt so secure that he couldn’t help but nod his head and obediently lay down to sleep once more.
He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.
Seeing that Luo Xiao had fallen asleep, Jiang Yao considered leaving the carriage to get his hands on some food for Luo Xiao, but he dared not leave his Astral Soul alone with Ling Mo.
Ling Mo had already tried to kill him once if they were alone together who knew if Luo Xiao would be alive for more than a minute.
“Ling Mo, can you go get some food?” Jiang Yao knew that Ling Mo hated Luo Xiao, but he also knew that he wouldn’t say no to him because Ling Mo was aware of who Jiang Yao was.
He was aware of all the rumors about Jiang Yao. He knew of Jiang Yao’s temperament and behavior. He would definitely humor him, even if he hated it.
This could be seen already by how he had stayed by Jiang Yao’s side even with Luo Xiao there. He knew the benefits Jiang Yao could bring, but he was so jealous that he had forgotten about Jiang Yao’s volatile temper. All he remembered was that Jiang Yao, who he was supposed to get close to during this trip, had brought along a weakling that had taken all his attention.
“Sir Jiang,” someone called from outside the caravan, “we have cooked some food, please accept it.”
When Jiang Yao opened the door, a blushing young woman stood there. She was staring, clearly infatuated with Jiang Yao, but when he saw her infatuation, he didn’t feel excited. People like this were something he was all too familiar with.
Ling Mo’s eyes were filled with relief when he heard the woman. Had she not appeared then he would have had to go out and fetch the food, but now he could stay by Jiang Yao’s side.
Jiang Yao accepted the food and shut the carriage door in the face of the young woman. He then went to the bedside of Luo Xiao and gently lifted him up. He supported him with one arm and placed the food on the seat next to him.
Luo Xiao awoke rather quickly and rubbed his eyes, “How are you feeling?” Jiang Yao asked gently. Luo Xiao pondered for a moment, “I am feeling much better,” he answered honestly. “Though I am quite hungry,” he admitted when he smelled the food.
“Here,” Jiang Yao picked up the bowl of congee and started to feed him. Seeing his action Luo Xiao’s face turned beet-red from being hand fed, and he quickly muttered, “I can do it myself.”
“What are you talking about?” Jiang Yao smiled tenderly, “You were wounded! It is only natural that I help you eat.”
No matter how much Luo Xiao tried to disagree, he found that he couldn’t change Jiang Yao’s mind. He didn’t have the strength to push away his hand.
In the end, Jiang Yao fed him while smiling brilliantly, and Luo Xiao grudgingly ate the food.
Ling Mo watched this scene with eyes that were so filled with hatred that Luo Xiao thought he would have died multiple times over if looks could kill.
After a few minutes, the meal finished, and Luo Xiao felt much better. The medicinal effects of the pills that Jiang Yao had washed into his arm caused him to feel a strange energy roam through his body, and slowly it was converted to spiritual energy alongside.
Seeing Luo Xiao feel completely fine, Jiang Yao was relieved. But whenever he looked at his arm and saw the silver line of a scar, his heart ached, and he felt guilty.
Had it not been for his plan, then Luo Xiao wouldn’t have been in danger. “We will leave at daybreak then,” Jiang Yao said with a sigh after seeing that Luo Xiao was fine. Although he might be a little tired, it wasn’t something that he could not handle. Considering that he would be carried like a princess again, he was certain that the younger man could sleep in his embrace.
Ling Mo left the carriage for a few moments before he returned, and when he did, a slight smile played on his lips.
It didn’t take long before three experts of the caravan appeared at the door and requested for Jiang Yao to come with them.
Jiang Yao was puzzled, “What do you need me for?” he asked, annoyed.
“We are incredibly honored by your stay in our caravan and wish to give you a token of our appreciation,” one of the experts finally said, but his voice was shaking.
“I don’t need a token of appreciation; I only stopped here because my partner was wounded. Had it not been for that, I wouldn’t have even spared you a glance; now leave us alone.”
“Sir Jiang,” Ling Mo suddenly interrupted with a smile. “You’re a very important person with a very important background. You need to keep this in mind when acting. Someone with your background ought to accept the praises of others,” he said, struggling to hide the excitement in his voice.
Luo Xiao heard Ling Mo’s words, and he couldn’t help but pout. It seemed that this Sir Ling knew much more about Jiang Yao than he did. Somehow, this really annoyed him, but he also knew that the older man had no wish to tell him about himself so for this reason, he never asked.
Luo Xiao was in a bad mood from the words Ling Mo had said, so he couldn’t stay quiet. “Sir Ling,” he said, “what Jiang Yao does has nothing to do with you. He might have an influential family, but he is himself. He has no one to answer to but to himself and his morals. Who are you to tell him how to behave?”
Hearing the words, Jiang Yao’s heart turned soft, but he knew that Ling Mo’s words made sense as well. He was a demon prince, after all; they were used to being revered everywhere they went. If his family knew he had been disrespectful to people who wanted to praise him, they would cause a ruckus. Knowing Ling Mo, he would use this issue to cause trouble back home.
“I will go,” he sighed after some time. “But Ling Mo, you are coming with me,” he said.
Ling Mo seemed to have expected this outcome and simply shrugged.
“Xiaoxiao, don’t let anyone inside,” Jiang Yao said with a stern voice. “I’ll place a barrier around the carriage so no one can enter without my permission. Behave yourself.”
A cold hand gently brushed Luo Xiao’s cheek before Jiang Yao, and Ling Mo left the carriage to receive the people who wanted to meet this renown demon prince.