OFTLHFRO C134

Chapter 134: One of Life’s Greatest Pleasures

No matter what that man’s name was, Luo Mingchen didn’t recognize him anyway.

But judging from the reactions of Huo Yan and Xiao Lin after hearing the name, it didn’t seem like they were unfamiliar.

What’s more, the story about the master jumping off a cliff—wasn’t that the exact same scenario Huo Yan had told him about last night?

Huo Yan asked: “Did you come here looking for me?”

Hua Yaoyue curved his lips slightly. “Just came to say hello.”

Hearing that, Luo Mingchen muttered: “Do people from your side like to sneak into estates in disguise just to say hello?”

“Cough…”

Hua Yaoyue replied awkwardly: “That was just an accident. Besides, I wasn’t sure whether he was really my junior brother, so I had to check for myself.”

Ji Bowen raised a question: “If you weren’t sure, why come at all?”

If nothing else, Hua Yaoyue’s face was extremely recognizable.

And before his name was spoken aloud, Huo Yan’s expression had clearly shown no recognition. That meant they had never met before. So how exactly did Hua Yaoyue know Huo Yan was his junior brother?

“The poison on Wu Qing from Bing City—that was your doing, wasn’t it? I overheard a few words when I passed by. That strange kind of poison, only our master liked to study such things. The antidotes were always just as bizarre.”

At this point, Hua Yaoyue said helplessly: “Now, can you untie the ropes on me?”

Huo Yan said to Xiao Chen: “Untie him.”

“Yes.”

Once the ropes were undone, Hua Yaoyue looked at Huo Yan with a half-smile. “Your spouse does have some ability—immune to all poisons. His blood would make an excellent primer for many toxins.”

Before the words had even fully landed, Hua Yaoyue clearly sensed the murderous look in Huo Yan’s eyes. He quickly laughed again and said: “Just a joke.”

Huo Yan said: “If you have no business here, then leave early. If there is a next time, you’ll be dealt with as an enemy spy.”

“Hey, junior brother, this may be our first meeting, but you can’t be so cold. Our master only had two direct disciples—you and me. Now that you’re a general, shouldn’t you find me a good place to stay?”

To be honest, no one had expected Hua Yaoyue to be so thick-skinned. They weren’t familiar at all, yet he was still trying to cozy up.

They all thought Huo Yan would reject him without hesitation.

However, after some thought, Huo Yan said: “You can stay, but make me a few masks and treat someone for me.”

Hua Yaoyue blinked. “Deal.”

Luo Mingchen didn’t quite understand why Huo Yan would trust Hua Yaoyue’s words.

But since this was clearly something that couldn’t be discussed in front of Ji Bowen and the others, he didn’t ask.

Huo Yan had already arranged most things beforehand. Once everything was confirmed, he and Luo Mingchen brought Hua Yaoyue back.

Xiao Lin followed behind them with a complicated expression.

As soon as they entered the study and saw no one else was around, Xiao Lin quickly closed the door and lowered his voice. “Brother, you’re even taking in people from the Demon Palace? The only reason he’s here must be that he’s being hunted down. Otherwise, why would he come to such a bitterly cold place?”

Off to the side, Hua Yaoyue said lazily: “Hey, I’m right here.”

Xiao Lin shot back directly: “So what?”

Huo Yan said: “Hua Yaoyue is a renowned poison doctor. Let him take a look at Hua Niang.”

“Hua Niang?”

Hua Yaoyue raised an eyebrow. “Where is she from?”

Xiao Lin rolled his eyes hard at him. “Hua family village, Yuelan County. What, you want to acknowledge your ancestors and return to the clan?”

“Funny you should say that. Twenty years ago, I really was from the same village and clan.”

Never in a million years had Xiao Lin expected that answer. He was left speechless.

Luo Mingchen didn’t understand. “If you’ve never met, how do you even know about each other?”

Hua Yaoyue smiled at him. “When master took in a new disciple, he wrote to me. He was quite happy, saying my junior brother was handsome, had a good memory, excellent comprehension, and carried some deep internal strength from who knows where.”

Luo Mingchen: “…”

In Huo Yan’s telling, that so-called master was a kidnapper. But hearing it from Hua Yaoyue, it sounded like they had a fine relationship.

“Happy, my ass!”

Xiao Lin sneered. “Your master kidnapped Brother Huo. If it weren’t for his great fortune, he would’ve been bitten to death by those poisonous creatures. Master, my foot!”

If it weren’t for the fact that the Demon Palace’s master was already dead, Xiao Lin would’ve spoken even harsher words.

“But the part about pouring out all his teachings is true, isn’t it? My junior brother hasn’t complained, so what are you getting worked up about?”

As he said this, Hua Yaoyue even gave Huo Yan a smile. “Am I right?”

Huo Yan said: “He was indeed not my master. If not for the saying ‘when a man dies, his light is extinguished,’ the next time I met him, it would have been as an enemy.”

Xiao Lin said triumphantly: “Hear that?”

“…Oh.”

While they were talking, Luo Mingchen just sat quietly to the side, sipping a glass of water.

Xiao Lin hadn’t been wrong—Hua Yaoyue was indeed being hunted down. His escape to this place was pure chance. After overhearing two soldiers mention the antidote for Wu Qing, curiosity led him to investigate further, and that’s when he remembered Huo Yan’s existence. To his surprise, he had actually found the right person.

The only real accident was being caught by Luo Mingchen in the estate.

But thinking it over, being spotted by that little girl—that was the true beginning of the accident.

Hua Yaoyue was being hunted by orthodox sect disciples, and according to him, there were also groups trying to take him back to make poison.

As for the exact details, they didn’t know—after he mentioned it, the topic ended there.

No matter what he said, Huo Yan had only one reply: “Food and lodging provided. No pay. Don’t like it, then leave.”

Faced with such unfair terms, Hua Yaoyue only offered a token protest before letting it drop.

Luo Mingchen understood.

It seemed this man really had been forced into a desperate situation. Otherwise, why would he shamelessly cling to staying here?

Now that the estate had one more person, among the three children, only Huo Xinyue had seen him. As soon as he appeared, she pointed at him and said to Luo Mingchen: “Daddy, it was him… whoosh! And then he disappeared!”

Watching Huo Xinyue wave her short little arms with all her might, Luo Mingchen chuckled and rubbed her head. “That was just a trick of the eyes. He won’t be doing it again.”

Huo Xinyue stared wide-eyed at Hua Yaoyue, still holding on to that sense of mystery about this handsome uncle.

After introducing Hua Yaoyue to a few people, it was considered that they now knew him.

Hua Niang’s body had been damaged too severely in the brothel years ago. Huo Yan asked Hua Yaoyue to treat her, not for pregnancy or childbirth, but simply to nurse her health so she wouldn’t remain so frail.

Even with Hua Yaoyue staying, the others still held a measure of caution toward him.

That night, by the flickering candlelight, Luo Mingchen sat opposite Huo Yan, watching him write something, and asked: “With Hua Yaoyue staying here, won’t his enemies eventually find this place?”

Huo Yan kept writing as he replied: “Whether demonic or orthodox sects, in the eyes of the court they are all thorns in the side—the former are just more troublesome. No sect would dare come into a military camp to look for someone. Compared to them, I think there may be people in the court also seeking him.”

Luo Mingchen shifted his feet, propping his chin in one hand. “Why?”

Huo Yan stopped writing, looked at him, and said: “With Hua Yaoyue’s disguise skills, he could easily vanish into another country, or even some remote village. Yet he came to the borderlands and didn’t leave—instead, he sought me out, a junior brother he had never even met. Don’t you find that suspicious?”

“You mean the court of another country?”

After some thought, Huo Yan said: “Perhaps our own court as well.”

Luo Mingchen was confused. “He’s that sought after?”

“A poison doctor of great renown—supposedly, as long as there’s still a single breath left, he can bring someone back. A rare talent indeed.”

So, Hua Yaoyue’s willingness to stay and work for them was, in fact, a gain on their part.

So that was it…

Luo Mingchen nodded, then wiggled his feet again and said: “The water seems to have cooled.”

“Add some hot water.”

As he spoke, Huo Yan lifted the large kettle beside him and poured some hot water into the foot basin. The two of them continued soaking together.

In cold weather, after a bath, soaking one’s feet—this was truly one of life’s greatest pleasures.