Nie Chenhui was taken aback by the fire in Ge Nianlan’s eyes. He stared at the boy for several seconds before chuckling.

“Then, Young Lord, please forgive me if it hurts too badly,” Nie Chenhui said. “And please move to the bed.”

Ge Nianlan placed the book he had been holding down onto the table. He stood and sat down on his bed. Nie Chenhui kicked his shoes off and sat down, cross legged, behind Ge Nianlan. He tilted his head slightly to get into Ge Nianlan’s line of sight, and smiled.

“Young Lord, this will hurt,” Nie Chenhui said as he set his hands against Ge Nianlan’s back.

Ge Nianlan gritted his teeth. “Just do it.”

The pain was indescribable. Ge Nianlan felt as if someone had taken a handful of glass shards and shoved it through his chest until it reached a part of him that he didn’t even know existed. His vision blackened and his entire body convulsed. He felt something enter his mouth and only had a split second to wonder what was the purpose of it.

While the pain lasted for only a minute, Ge Nianlan felt as if he had been tormented for an eternity. The pain moved from his chest to his head for a split second. Ge Nianlan wanted to resist, but the force that had entered him was far more powerful than himself.

Then, everything stopped.

Ge Nianlan collapsed onto the bed, his chest heaving and sweat dripping down the tip of his nose. He could still feel Nie Chenhui’s hand against his back but, now, it was gently brushing up and down, as if to provide some comfort.

Ge Nianlan clenched his jaw and looked over his shoulder. “Ha…happy now?”

Nie Chenhui smiled, like an acrobat might in front of a large crowd, before responding: “I’m actually not.”

“W-what?”

“Thank you, Young Lord,” Nie Chenhui said. He stood and pulled out a piece of candy from his pocket. “Here. Take this.”

“What do you mean you’re not happy?” Ge Nianlan asked. He scrambled to stand, but his legs gave away underneath him.

Nie Chenhui caught him, picked him up by his armpits, and set him back down. He ruffled the boy’s hair. “Not because of you, Young Lord. There is another reason I’m unhappy, but I cannot tell you yet.”

Ge Nianlan shuddered slightly. Did Nie Chenhui feel disappointed that he couldn’t find a reason to dislike him?

Without letting Ge Nianlan ask another question, Nie Chenhui left.

The moment he closed the door, his expression turned icy. In just two quick steps, a plume of black smoke arrived in front of the Devil Lord’s double doors. The two guards in front of the door bowed immediately upon seeing him.

“Your Excellency, may I come in?” Nie Chenhui asked.

A muffled “enter” gave the guards permission to open the doors.

Nie Chenhui stepped in and immediately prostrated.

Ge Jinsheng glanced up from his paperwork, somewhat lazily, and turned his gaze away. “What did you do this time?”

“I tested the Young Lord.”

Nie Chenhui heard the brush in Ge Jinsheng’s hand snap. He was then lifted from his feet by the neck and slammed into the nearest wall. The bookshelves trembled and nearly tipped over. A few books fell onto Nie Chenhui and Ge Jinsheng’s heads, but at that moment, Nie Chenhui couldn’t feel the pain. He looked at the ground as he struggled to fight back against the claustrophobic sensation, brought on by this position.

“What were my orders?”

“Your Excellency, you can do what you want with me, but I need to tell you something first,” Nie Chenhui said.

Ge Jinsheng’s eyes narrowed. His grip on Nie Chenhui slowly loosened, but he still held the man in place. “Speak.”

“When I was examining the Young Lord’s soul, I noticed something odd,” Nie Chenhui said. “He had already been cursed before.”

“…What?”

“To put it more precisely, someone purposely limited the function of his mind. It had nothing to do with his trauma. However, because the Young Lord read the cursed artifact, the two curses collided and, luckily, he managed to break free from the previous one,” Nie Chenhui said. He let out a short grunt as Ge Jinsheng dropped him to the ground. He touched his neck and continued, “I found traces of another’s Qi, blocking parts of his brain, as well as several areas in his meridians.”

“How is his situation now?” Ge Jinsheng asked.

“For the most part, he has returned to normal,” Nie Chenhui said.

“And what was he like after you finished?” Ge Jinsheng asked.

“He was fine. If Your Excellency doesn’t believe me, you could check.”

Ge Jinsheng let out a deep sigh. He leaned against his desk and glared at Nie Chenhui. “You were reckless and you went against my commands.”

Nie Chenhui got down onto his knees again. “Please punish me as you wish.”

“Solitary confinement for a week,” Ge Jinsheng said. He glanced at Nie Chenhui and huffed again. “Guards, take Lord Nie to the dungeons.”

Nie Chenhui stood. He brushed his hand against the front of his robes as the guards awkwardly stepped in.

“Your Excellency, don’t you think that punishment is a bit too light?” Nie Chenhui teased.

Ge Jinsheng glanced at him tiredly. “You did it for my sake and you even found out about Nianlan’s ailment. You did more good than harm, so I am letting you off easy.”

Nie Chenhui grinned. He made a grand gesture of bowing. “Thank you, Your Excellency.”

Ge Jinsheng leaned against his desk. His eyes turned a bloody red as he reached over his desk to summon the Saints.

Only a few minutes had passed before Zhao Cuihong, Jia Chiying, Wen Yuqing, and Guan Yongqin appeared at his door. They stepped in and glanced around, clearly confused as to why Nie Chenhui hadn’t come as well.

“He is in solitary confinement for going against my orders.”

Zhao Cuihong’s face blanched. “Did he do something to the Young Lord?”

“He did,” Ge Jinsheng sighed. “However, he found out something more important.”

Once Ge Jinsheng finished repeating what Nie Chenhui had told him, Wen Yuqing kicked over the nearest chair. Zhao Cuihong placed a hand over his mouth and then looked at those around him.

“The people who kidnapped the Young Lord when he was younger.”

“They’re all dead,” Jia Chiying said. “They sold out their master and then His Excellency executed all of them.”

“They were lying,” Guan Yongqin murmured. Her gaze darkened as she bit her nail. “We were played for an entire decade and we didn’t even realize it.”

“If the Young Lord hadn’t mistakenly grabbed the cursed artifact, he would have had to live the rest of his life like that,” Wen Yuqing said.

“It wouldn’t have been that bad,” Zhao Cuihong grumbled. “He would be able to stay happy and ignorant.”

“Are you confident that you would have been there to protect him his entire life though?” Guan Yongqin pointed out.

Zhao Cuihong pursed his lips and fell silent. Nothing was for certain in this world, so of course Zhao Cuihong would not dare make such a promise.

“We should call Physician Lv,” Ge Jinsheng said. “I’d hate to put him through another checkup, but in case Lord Nie harmed him without realizing it, we should make sure.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

And thus, for the third time in a week, Physician Lv was called in.

Ge Nianlan felt extremely nauseous after his interaction with Nie Chenhui. He even thrown up once before Physician Lv arrived. When she said she was sent to check up on him, Ge Nianlan could only smile and put up with the annoying process once more.

As the physician was packing up, she glanced at Ge Nianlan. “How are you feeling?”

“Just…a little nauseous,” Ge Nianlan said. He held a hand to his mouth until his stomach settled. He breathed out deeply and tried to smile at the physician. “Thank you for coming again, Physician Lv.”

“Of course! It is my job,” Physician Lv said. She smiled. “And it is always a pleasure to see children as cute as yourself, Young Lord.”

Ge Nianlan chuckled. “Thank you.”

After the doors closed, Ge Nianlan fell back onto his bed. He wanted to take a nap. He desperately wanted to fall asleep, but the feeling of something bouncing back and forth between his throat and stomach did not leave.

At some point, Ge Nianlan managed to fall asleep and he was awoken by the soft creaking of the door. His lashes fluttered open and he looked over to find a woman standing beside Jia Chiying.

The two looked shocked to find Ge Nianlan awake.

“Young Lord, did we wake you?” Jia Chiying asked in a fluster.

“No…” Ge Nianlan glanced at the woman beside Jia Chiying uncertainly.

“Oh, this—” Jia Chiying bit back a smile. “This is Lord Zhao. You don’t recognize her?”

The guarded look in Ge Nianlan’s eyes faded. He suddenly remembered that Zhao Cuihong did have the ability to shapeshift back and forth between the form of a man and a woman. Somewhat in awe, Ge Nianland sat up and leaned over the edge of his bed. Zhao Cuihong giggled and sat down beside the boy. She gently patted his head.

“How do you feel, Young Lord?”

“I’m okay. Why did you suddenly change?” Ge Nianlan asked.

“There’s never any reason,” Zhao Cuihong said with a shrug. “I just felt like it. Sometimes I’m a man for a few hours, other times I’m a woman for several months. It happens at random.”

“Oh,” Ge Nianlan hummed. “Do your clothes change along with you? Or do you have to get new clothes?”

“I get new clothes,” Zhao Cuihong replied.

Ge Nianlan let out a soft “wow”. “I wonder if there’s a way to get shapeshifting clothes too.”

Zhao Cuihong and Jia Chiying glanced at each other before bursting out in laughter.

The laughter seemed to wake Ge Nianlan from his drowsy daze. His face flushed and he tried to sit away from Zhao Cuihong, but the woman’s hand remained carefully against his head. He hesitated for a moment before giving in and leaning against her arm.

“Did you two come to visit me?” Ge Nianlan asked.

“We heard that you were still asleep through dinner time, so we wanted to check on you to see if you had woken up and wanted anything to eat,” Jia Chiying said.

“I’m not really hungry,” Ge Nianlan mumbled drowsily. He rubbed his eyes. “Is it still night time?”

“It is,” Zhao Cuihong said. She gently brushed a hand against Ge Nianlan’s head. “If you aren’t hungry, you can go back to bed.”

Ge Nianlan hummed softly. He let Zhao Cuihong shift him around and lay him down to bed. His initial shock had worn off and he was getting sleepier again. His hand held unconsciously onto Zhao Cuihong’s sleeve.

“I’m not that tired yet,” Ge Nianlan mumbled. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he looked at the two people in front of him. “You can stay.”

Zhao Cuihong chuckled and sat back down. She glanced at Jia Chiying. “Should we stay?”

Jia Chiying smiled to himself. He brought a chair over and sat down beside Zhao Cuihong. He leaned over and gently patted Ge Nianlan’s back.

“We’ll stay until you fall asleep, Young Lord.”

Ge Nianlan hummed. He wiggled closer to Zhao Cuihong’s arm and rested his head gently against it. “Can you tell me a story?”

Zhao Cuihong glanced at Jia Chiying, who had always been the one to tell Ge Nianlan stories. The man chuckled and gently patted Ge Nianlan’s head.

“What kind of story do you want to hear, Young Lord?”

“Mm…a happy one,” Ge Nianlan murmured.

One where he could continue to live with Zhao Cuihong and Jia Chiying. One where Huai Zhen never showed up and one where Ge Nianlan wouldn’t be left alone in the world.

“A happy story?” Jia Chiying murmured. “Okay. A long time ago, there was a big tree. The big tree covered a large plot of land, providing shelter and shade for many animals around it. The animals were always grateful to this big tree and the creatures of this forest greatly respected it. One day, a small seed was blown through the wind and landed near the big tree. Upon seeing all those who revered the big tree, the small seed spoke up: ‘Big tree, big tree! I want to grow up to be like you when I’m older’

“The big tree chuckled, its leaves swaying to-and-fro. The big tree said, ‘Of course, one day you’ll be able to grow as big and tall as me. However, it won’t be an easy path’. The little seed felt discouraged and asked, ‘Well, why is that?’ The big tree responded: ‘In order to grow strong, you will endure a lot of hardship; in order to grow big, you will have to go through many trials. There will be people who try to harm you but you must persevere. Remember—the storms are meant to help you grow and the blazing heat from the sun is meant to nourish you. Take these challenges as they come and, one day, you will become big and strong’.

“The little seed listened to the big tree’s advice and in the next gush of wind, it was taken further away to a place where it could peacefully take root. But the big tree was right. There were many humans who tried to harm it. Sometimes, the storms would be too strong. And sometimes, the sun would be far too hot. However, as the little seed suffered, it would always remember the big tree’s teaching. Many years passed since then and now the little seed was a strong, healthy tree. Although it still wasn’t as big as the big tree and it still wasn’t as strong, the little tree knew that so long as it persevered, it would one day reach its goal.”

Zhao Cuihong, who was gently stroking Ge Nianlan’s hair, frowned. “Is that a happy story?”

“Isn’t it?” Jia Chiying questioned. “It’s a story about endurance.”

Zhao Cuihong sighed. “How is that happy? You’re saying that the little seed suffered a lot, but the ending is still mediocre!”

Ge Nianlan listened to their conversation and smiled softly to himself. “I liked it…”

Jia Chiying smiled triumphantly. “See? He likes it.”

Zhao Cuihong shook her head, but reserved her own opinion for a later conversation. She glanced down at Ge Nianlan, who was clearly struggling to stay asleep. She chuckled softly.

“Sleep, Young Lord. Why are you fighting it?”

“Mm…I like the story,” Ge Nianlan murmured again. “I wanna…be like that too…”

“You will be,” Jia Chiying reassured him. “You’re going to grow up and have everything at your fingertips, Young Lord. I promise you.”