Chapter 95

Although he had escaped halfway, Xia Yunjie still arrived home around midnight.

When he got home, he pushed the door open and saw Shen Liti, wearing loose pajamas, tilting her head to dry her hair, clearly just out of the shower.

"Hey, why are you back so early today?" Seeing Xia Yunjie push the door open, Shen Liti continued drying her hair while asking casually.

A few clear droplets of water trickled down her hair and onto her pajamas, wetting a small part of the fabric, making the pajamas cling to her body and revealing her ample chest and two prominent points.

"Hmm, uh!" Xia Yunjie hadn't expected that after being teased to the brink of desire by a group of princesses at Charm Silver Seat, and after finally calming down with the cool night breeze, he would come home to such a tempting sight.

Shen Liti seemed to be getting more and more open, wearing pajamas with nothing underneath. The two prominent points were clearly visible, and even the hint of blackness below could be faintly seen through the thin fabric.

"What are you stammering about? Ah! You big pervert!" Seeing Xia Yunjie stammer without answering, Shen Liti couldn't help but look up curiously. She noticed he was staring at her curvaceous body and suddenly remembered she had just taken a shower and wasn't wearing anything underneath. Embarrassed, she grabbed the towel in her hand and threw it at Xia Yunjie, then turned and ran into the bedroom like a whirlwind.

The light透过那薄薄的布料，Xia Yunjie clearly saw the two tempting, round shapes. Holding the towel, he couldn't help but let out a long, painful sigh.

This is going to kill me!

Shen Liti came out of the bedroom a short while later, fully dressed.

When she came out, Shen Liti glared at Xia Yunjie with her beautiful eyes, as if they had an irreconcilable enmity.

"Cough, cough, I really didn't mean to this time." Xia Yunjie said innocently. But as soon as the words were out, he wished he could slap himself.

What kind of talk is this? Does that mean he did it on purpose before!

Sure enough, Shen Liti glared at him again and said, "Finally showing your true colors, huh? If it wasn't on purpose, why did you come home so early?"

Xia Yunjie, speechless, looked at Shen Liti and said, "Is it not allowed to come home early?"

"No, of course not. You always come home around two or three in the morning. Suddenly coming home so early... Wait, what's that perfume smell?" Shen Liti rebutted unreasonably, but halfway through, she suddenly looked surprised and twitched her delicate, straight nose.

Sniffing, Shen Liti's nose got closer and closer to Xia Yunjie.

Xia Yunjie, seeing her nose getting closer, inwardly groaned. He now knew where the perfume smell was coming from!

"You, Xia Yunjie, no wonder you came home so early. You didn't go to work today, did you? You were out fooling around!" Once she confirmed that the perfume smell was coming from Xia Yunjie and that there were several different scents, Shen Liti couldn't help but turn red with anger.

"Rubbish!" Xia Yunjie instinctively denied it.

"Rubbish? Can you explain this to me? And this, wow, golden, red, purple..." But before Xia Yunjie could finish, the sharp-eyed Shen Liti had already pulled out several strands of hair of different colors from his body and pointed at them, demanding an explanation.

Xia Yunjie, looking at the dyed long hairs, was speechless. He knew exactly whose hairs they were, the princesses'!

In the private room earlier, although he hadn't actively touched the princesses, he couldn't resist their advances. The perfume smell and the hair were left behind during their "harassment."

"Got nothing to say, huh? You big pervert, big scoundrel, no wonder you always say you have no money. It turns out you spend it all on women. Humph, I, I won't talk to you anymore!" Seeing Xia Yunjie speechless, Shen Liti felt an inexplicable anger. She stomped on his foot and, with her still damp hair, turned and went back to the bedroom, slamming the door. Xia Yunjie, touching the water droplets on his face, could only laugh bitterly.

Before, it could be treated as a joke, and no one would take it seriously. But this time, even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he couldn't wash it clean.

The next day, and for a long time after, Shen Liti indeed ignored Xia Yunjie and didn't eat the food he cooked.

To be honest, when they first started living together, Xia Yunjie was hoping to have some money in his pocket and move out. But now that Shen Liti was really ignoring him, he felt a bit lost and uncomfortable. He wanted to explain things to her several times but found that there was no way to explain it.

Perfume, hair, especially women's hair, not just one, and not the same color, how could he explain it clearly?

In the end, Xia Yunjie could only console himself with sayings like "The clear will be clear, the turbid will be turbid, the distance will reveal the strength of the horse, and time will reveal the heart of the person," and let things take their natural course.

...

In the capital, in a gray-walled, gray-tiled, unremarkable quadrangle in the back street of Zhongshan.

Two rattan chairs, a tea table, two cups of tea, and two elderly men quietly drinking tea.

One of the elderly men was already full of wrinkles, old and frail, with cloudy eyes. Only the occasional aura he exuded could make one's heart tremble, hinting that this man had once been a great figure.

The other elderly man was quite the opposite. Although his hair was already half white, his skin had almost no age spots, his eyes were clear and bright, and he exuded a transcendent and detached aura, making it impossible to guess his actual age.

"Brother Qinghong, we have been through many hardships together. Just tell me the truth, how much longer can I last?" The frail old man asked the other elderly man.

If someone from a special department were present, hearing the frail old man call the other elderly man "Brother Qinghong" would be both surprised and deeply respectful. This old man was not only one of the founders of the special department but also one of its legendary figures. However, until today, only a few people knew whether he was alive or dead. It was hard to believe that he appeared so spirited in the quadrangle on the back street of Zhongshan, as he would be 85 years old if he were still alive.

"Life and death are the laws of nature, everything has its own destiny. Why do you ask, Brother Yuanjian?" The elderly man called Qinghong's hand trembled slightly as he lifted his teacup, then took a sip to cover it up, and said calmly.

If the name "Qinghong" was known only to a few special people, then the name "Yuanjian" would be even more shocking. This was the courtesy name of a valiant general who fought in the founding of the Republic, who once held a vice-national level position and was one of the few remaining founding elders of the Republic.

The old general's surname was Huang.

"Don't give me that high-minded act, Brother Qinghong. Just tell me the truth. I don't care, it's not bad to meet the Chairman a day earlier, but I'm different. My family is large, and if I have to go, I need to prepare my descendants in advance." Huang Lao, hearing this, put down his teacup and glared, even calling Qinghong by his nickname.

A trace of sorrow flashed in Qinghong's eyes as he looked at Huang Lao, then after a long silence, he said guiltily, "With your health, living to a hundred shouldn't be a problem, but that thing has broken the spell my master cast, and it has started to consume your essence and blood day and night. If you can live through this year, that would be quite good."

Huang Lao had recently started feeling the familiar pain in his heart, but the hospital couldn't find anything wrong. He suspected that the thing had finally broken free and was wreaking havoc in his body again, so he had specially invited Qinghong to his home. Hearing this, he couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, so I only have a few months left."

"Yes," Qinghong nodded heavily, no longer as calm and composed as before.

"Life and death are predetermined by heaven, Brother Qinghong, you don't need to be sad." Seeing Qinghong's low spirits, Huang Lao patted his hand to comfort him.

Qinghong forced a smile and took out three ancient copper coins from his pocket. The coins, often played with, had their black ancient rust worn off, revealing a bluish-purple luster, giving a sense of ancient simplicity and沧桑.

The three ancient copper coins had clear inscriptions and were in perfect condition, clearly marked as "Da Qi Tong Bao."

"Da Qi Tong Bao" is one of the fifty most rare coins in Chinese coin collecting. So far, only two have appeared on the market, not counting the three in Qinghong's possession, indicating their rarity.

Seeing Qinghong take out his treasured "Da Qi Tong Bao," Huang Lao's eyes brightened slightly, then he shook his head, "Forget it, Brother Qinghong. We are both on the verge of death, no need to waste your energy on me."

"Human effort can be exhausted, but fate is beyond control. Let me try one last divination for you, perhaps there is a glimmer of hope." Qinghong insisted.

He knew that Huang Lao was worried that divining his fate would harm his essence, as divining life and death was much more draining than divining wealth or marriage.

"Why are you doing this? Is there anyone in the world whose magic is more advanced than Master Zhuge? Since that thing has broken Master Zhuge's spell, your divination will be in vain." Huang Lao shook his head.

Master Zhuge was Qinghong's master, who was best at divination and exorcism but was killed by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution for being "feudal superstition."