After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety
Chapter 680 - 670: Wholehearted Scheming, Sleep-addicted

Chapter 680: Chapter 670: Wholehearted Scheming, Sleep-addicted

The final answer from Wu Jue was silence.

He never dared to underestimate an Emperor’s insight; it’s very possible that any move he made would be detected by Jiang Lingxi immediately.

So, at this moment, faced with his friend’s gaze, he lowered his eyes and responded with silence.

He heard the sound of Shen Yunqing turning and leaving before lifting his gaze to look over.

Outside the door, two figures stood side by side, a companionship earned through utmost desire.

He couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

This challenge, Your Majesty must overcome.

It’s long been predestined; if not this time, there would be a next time.

This is the price!

With the matter resolved, Jiang Lingxi and Shen Yunqing did not leave.

Wu Jue was caught by a contingency left by Wu Hua in this underground secret laboratory before leaving Changcang Sect; now his whole body was stiff as a stone. Until his mobility could be restored, someone needed to stay in charge here.

Just as accommodations were arranged, a video call from Changning came through.

Previously, when we went underground, this kid also tried calling once, but because there was no signal, the call was automatically disconnected.

She presumably guessed that it was inconvenient to take the call and called again after some time.

Shen Yunqing pressed to connect.

"Sir, how are things on your end? Have you found the person? Is anyone hurt?"

"Found. Your master was affected by Wu Hua’s contingency, but he said there’s no life-threatening danger."

"That person can’t even find peace in death. So, does that mean you and Lingxi sister can’t come back for now?"

"We’ll have to stay here a couple of days until your master recovers."

"Alright, alright then, rest assured Sir, I will keep an eye on things here."

Jiang Lingxi sat on a reclining chair found in one of the buildings of the Changcang Sect, covered with a blanket, with a charged hot water bottle in her hand.

After a busy half-day, she listened to the sound of the video call beside her, swaying gently with the chair, only feeling her eyelids battling fiercely.

Until she heard someone calling her beside her.

"Dinner is almost ready, eat before you sleep."

"Can’t I skip it?"

"No."

Receiving a rare rebuttal from the person beside her, Jiang Lingxi forced herself to open her eyes fully, stifling a yawn, "I’m so sleepy."

Shen Yunqing glanced at the time on his phone.

They received the distress call from Chang Fu just after lunch, quickly made arrangements, and hurried over without delay. After arriving, they began searching for people and handling follow-ups. Before they knew it, it was past seven in the evening.

It’s indeed a bit later than their usual dinner time.

But not yet as late as their usual bedtime.

She even took a nap in the car earlier.

Considering Your Majesty’s normally much more robust energy compared to others, it’s unlikely she would feel so drowsy so early.

His gaze uncontrollably fell on those hands, tightly gloved, resting on the hot water bottle.

Is this also one of the side effects?

"Just hold on a little longer."

"Mm," Jiang Lingxi lazily nodded, now that the crisis was resolved, she didn’t want to think anymore, "Alright."

The prepared meal was brought over, and Jiang Lingxi hastily ate with Shen Yunqing’s help. She then briefly freshened up and fell asleep hugging the hot water bottle she’d stuffed into her arms.

The large overhead light in the room was turned off, leaving only a small nightlight on the bedside table on.

Shen Yunqing quietly sat on the bed next to hers for a while before he quietly got up to find Wu Jue in the neighboring room.

Wu Jue maintained the same posture he had when they found him earlier; his head could at most move slowly now.

Upon hearing the door open, he lifted his gaze to see the visitor, his face bearing no hint of surprise.

"Your Majesty has fallen asleep?"

"Mm," Shen Yunqing sat down opposite Wu Jue, "Is the tendency to oversleep one of the aftereffects?"

"It’s somewhat akin to hibernation. It wouldn’t be as bad in summer, but it’s winter now, so it manifests more prominently."

"How about you?"

Wu Jue slowly moved his neck, "This is a technique called Prison Cage. My body, which was originally mine, has instead become a prison. As the ability breaks through its confines, it will slowly dissipate. This was custom-designed by Wu Hua using those two children as bait. She doesn’t want me dead; she wants me driven mad by this feeling."

Seeing his friend frown as he listened, he instead smiled a bit. "She wants me to empathize. She went to every length to survive and wanted to see me break through the cage by any means necessary. But she miscalculated on one point; I am not as fixated as she is."

"It’s just that it will be a tough ask for you; I’m not mobile for now, and you and Your Majesty might have to stay a few more days."

Shen Yunqing was already prepared mentally.

Although he was mad at Wu Jue for walking into Wu Hua’s trap knowing the child was involved, he also knew Wu Jue couldn’t just watch those two children be sacrificed.

Indeed, Wu Hua had calculated accurately.

Once the plan failed and Wu Jue found the underground cave, he would willingly take this hit.

"What do you plan to do with those children?"

"We can’t send them to an orphanage. They have been modified by Wu Hua to some degree and have lived for many years in such underground caverns. They are children yet no longer children. We’ll have to raise them ourselves."

"I’ll provide financial support. Since you’re not mobile now, let’s have Chang Fu and their people handle it for now."

Normally, he could manage to help with arrangements with a little more care.

But right now, Your Majesty’s health takes absolute priority; he doesn’t have the energy to focus on anything else.

Wu Jue understood well, if Your Majesty were to have an accident, his friend might revert to a walking corpse.

He had witnessed it once and didn’t want to witness it a second time.

He was certainly the second person under the sky who hoped for Your Majesty’s quick recovery.

The first was, of course, the person in front of him.

Shen Yunqing stood up, "Get some rest."

Wu Jue heard it as: hurry up and recover, so you can take over this mess ASAP.

*

Jiang Lingxi felt a bit dazed the moment she opened her eyes.

She thought she had been asleep for a long time, but the curtains in the room were still drawn, so she couldn’t tell if it was daylight outside.

She turned over, only to see the bed beside her was neatly made, in stark contrast to her side that looked like a dog’s nest.

Shen Yunqing had already gotten up. How long had he been up?

She had slept so deeply, she hadn’t heard a sound!

Taking advantage of the fact that he wasn’t around, Jiang Lingxi used her elbow to turn on the wall light, then placed one hand on the table, pulling down her glove with her elbow, took a deep breath, and looked over.

The vein-like black lines stopped just above her wrist, pretty much where they had been the previous day.

It seemed the series of warming measures taken yesterday were effective and had prevented further spread.

She sighed with relief, just pulling her glove back up when she heard the door click open from outside.

Shen Yunqing walked in and saw her sitting by the bed, "You’re awake."

"What time is it? I feel like I slept a long time, and I’m a bit hungry."

Shen Yunqing paused for a moment, "It’s a little after eleven."

Jiang Lingxi almost thought she misheard, "What time?"

"Almost noon."

Jiang Lingxi silently calculated.

It seemed like she had fallen asleep around eight o’clock last night and had slept straight through to after eleven this morning, which meant about fifteen hours.

Is she a pig, to have slept for such a long time in one go!