Chapter 52

"Do you want me to feed you?"

The news that Su Yue was already dead travelled over the following two days.

The Immortal’s Chief’s Residence sealed the news of his passing, but Ning Shiting himself already knew of this matter since it was Gu Feiyin who had personally sent a scout back to Xizhou and commanded the information be directly conveyed to Ning Shiting.

It was in the morning after those two days that Ning Shiting went back to the mansion. Outside was still pitch-dark, nevertheless, he had risen earlier.

Gu Tingshuang had gotten up even earlier still and waited on the boundary of the study, occupying the spot Ning Shiting always liked with pastries and dim sum, but not eating, and only moving his chopsticks when he caught the sight of the other coming.

Ning Shiting saw the meal in front of him was a double portion, so he knew that the other was waiting for him. Thus, he naturally sat down at his side, took up a spoon and slowly drank a bowl of deer milk congee.

The room was still filled with wolf cubs no longer sleeping, while the table and chairs across from them were also crowded with white wolves. Ning Shiting and Gu Tingshuang sat on the same side, with only a palm's width of space between them.

It was quite a bit too early today. Although Ning Shiting often messed up his sleep schedule, in reality, he was very sleep-deprived. He could stay up all night, but typically wouldn’t get up before the hour of Maoshi.

His appearance made it obvious that he had just woken up. He had washed up, but his attire was quite casual—he wore only a thin robe, casually wrapped in a thick cloak of fox fur, which made him look fluffy and smaller.

As Gu Tingshuang glanced sideways, he saw Ning Shiting slowly lifting a spoonful of milk congee to his lips, in a slow, pitiful motion like a cat. He had long known that Ning Shiting's right hand was injured, pierced straight through the palm, and as expected, today Ning Shiting's right hand seemed unable to lift at all.

Thinking it over, Gu Tingshuang coldly mocked, "Do you want me to feed you?"

Ning Shiting was surprised by the remark. He glanced at Gu Tingshuang, not catching the mockery in his tone, and seriously considered it. Realising that Gu Tingshuang had probably noticed his limited movement, he replied, "No need, I can use my left hand. Dianxia, feel free to enjoy your own meal."

…He took it seriously.

Gu Tingshuang had intended to scold Ning Shiting for his presumption, but when he saw the pale and somewhat haggard look on Ning Shiting's face, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

After a moment of silence, Gu Tingshuang spoke, "You're eating as slow as a turtle crawls. Don’t you have the council to attend to today?"

Ning Shiting responded, "No, I’ve already taken leave from the Qing Wang, claiming that I’m gravely ill and bedridden. Naturally, it wouldn’t be appropriate to go out for official duties today. But fortunately, the groundwork for rebuilding the icehouse was laid yesterday, so I no longer need to oversee every detail personally."

"Gravely ill and bedridden?" Gu Tingshuang eyed him suspiciously.

Knowing Ning Shiting's nature, even if he were on his deathbed, he'd still be thinking of others.

Ning Shiting nodded and placed his spoon down, saying softly, "Yinbing, for the next few days, let us arrange for the white wolves to be housed in the Baicao Garden, ba."

Gu Tingshuang quickly caught on to the hidden meaning in Ning Shiting’s words, narrowing his eyes sharply. "You already know? I won’t deny what my wolves have done. If anyone outside comes to hold someone accountable, just tell them it was me."

Ning Shiting replied, "It's not like that. It’s just that in a few days, the Qing Wang will return. By then, there will be many people around, and spies will surely notice Dianxia’s wolves. The ancient pack is wild and untamed. Delaying the revelation of their connection to you for even one more day will afford you one more day of peace."

"What?"

Gu Tingshuang looked up at him.

Ning Shiting said softly, "This morning, a scout reported that Su Yue from the Immortal Chief’s Mansion was found dead in the wilderness, trapped in a wolf-catching pit set by the hunters. His body was mutilated beyond recognition. No one can say for sure why he ended up there, but it’s being linked to the wolves' descent from the mountains yesterday. There have been instances of wolves attacking people before, but this time, it just so happened to involve the Immortal Chief Mansion. Although it’s a minor matter, the Su family is taking advantage of it, accusing our Qing Wang Mansion of being behind it."

"I see," Gu Tingshuang glanced again at Ning Shiting, wrapped in his cloak. Now he understood why Ning Shiting was up so early today. "Is my father furious? Did he come to blame you?"

Ning Shiting softly said, "It’s more or less like that, Dianxia."

In fact, Ning Shiting knew all too well why Gu Feiyin had come this time. Although Ning Shiting hadn’t directly killed anyone from the Su family, Gu Tingshuang’s wolves had done the job, and some would use this opportunity to implicate Gu Feiyin.

Gu Feiyin’s current position in court was precarious. On one hand, his military power couldn’t be underestimated; on the other, his rising influence led court officials to suspect that the Immortal Emperor might want to remove him. They constantly stirred up trouble to bring him down.

Ning Shiting guessed that, just like in his previous life, Gu Feiyin would likely ask him to subdue the Snow Yao upon his return.

In his past life, the Snow Yao incident had cost Ning Shiting his Ting Shu, and this time, he had no intention of getting involved. He planned to feign illness and stay out of it. Under such circumstances, Gu Feiyin couldn’t possibly force a bedridden, gravely ill man to go to the snowy mountains to hunt the Snow Yao.

Still, the Snow Yao problem was a serious issue. Ning Shiting thought about it and decided to ask some of his fellow disciples to see if he could contact his Shifu.

After hearing this, Gu Tingshuang agreed with Ning Shiting’s reasoning. With a slight nod of his chin, the wolves in the room understood and lined up, one by one jumping out the window to head to the Baicao Garden.

He asked, "Since you're supposedly recuperating, wouldn’t it be inconvenient for me to stay here with you?"

Ning Shiting, having finished his meal, called someone to clear the table and then started grinding ink with one hand. When he heard Gu Tingshuang’s question, he naturally replied, "It’s not inconvenient. If Dianxia finds the hustle and bustle bothersome when people come and go, you could stay in the Fragrant Pavilion. It's close to the Baicao Garden."

Gu Tingshuang was silent for a while before lazily replying, "Ng, I'll go stay at the Fragrant Pavilion so I don’t interrupt your reunion with my father."

Ning Shiting didn’t have much of a reaction to that remark.

Gu Tingshuang watched him for a moment longer, then looked away.

After finishing his meal, Ning Shiting moved over to the desk and began writing slowly. His right hand was immobile, so using his left hand made his writing slightly sluggish.

Gu Tingshuang used to sit in Ning Shiting’s study often, sometimes for an entire afternoon. They would each be engrossed in their own activities—Gu Tingshuang reading martial techniques while Ning Shiting handled matters from Xizhou. Occasionally, when Gu Tingshuang grew tired, he would glance at what Ning Shiting was doing, as if observing something interesting.

Sometimes, Ning Shiting would sense his gaze, look up, smile at him, and dismiss it.

Today’s weather was much like the previous days. The wind was blocked outside, but occasionally, falling icicles would scrape against the ice, making a series of cracking sounds, like the pouring of heavy rain.

Gu Tingshuang, watching Ning Shiting as usual, suddenly lost interest.