Chapter 478: Links
After Xiao Siyuan saw that broken piece of jade, his facial color immediately underwent a huge change. He stared fixedly at the jade without speaking.
He Xiaoqin's hair was rising on end from being stared at. At first he thought that his questions had offended this guy who looked gentle but actually had a bad temper. However, when he looked over, he found that Xiao Siyuan wasn't actually looking at him but towards his chest at his… broken piece of jade?
When He Xiaoqin realized this, he became even more confused. Why was he staring at this jade with that expression?
Speaking of this jade, it was actually just a piece of broken jade. This was the only thing that seemed a little valuable in that old temple, so he kept it with him on all times. After wearing it for a long time, he got a little attached to it so he never took it off.
In all honesty, sometimes he would even forget about the fact that he was wearing this thing. If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Siyuan had been staring straight at this piece of jade, he wouldn't have remembered that it was there.
It was naturally uncomfortable to have some part of your body stared at like that.
Hence He Xiaoqin coughed, then tugged on the new clothes he was wearing to hide that piece of jade.
When the object he had been fixated on disappeared, Xiao Siyuan finally snapped out of it and realized his discourteous behavior. He smiled apologetically towards He Xiaoqin and asked lightly, "Forgive my presumptuousness, but may I ask where Brother Xiaoqin got this jade?"
He Xiaoqin, who had grown up in the streets, was unused to such erudite words, but he didn't have a bad impression of this gentle person, so he awkwardly mimicked Xiao Siyuan's way of talking and replied, "This jade is something I happened to chance upon. Could it be that Big Brother recognizes this jade?"
When Xiao Siyuan's heard his awkward speech, he smiled again. "It just looks a little familiar. If Brother Xiaoqin doesn't mind, can I take a look?"
He Xiaoqin wasn't surprised that Xiao Siyuan wanted to take a look at this piece of jade, but he still hesitated for a while. Finally, he undid the red string and tossed the jade piece to Xiao Siyuan.
It was just a piece of broken jade and wasn't worth much. This Xiao Siyuan didn't seem like he lacked money, so there was no way he'd want to steal the jade. Hence, after He Xiaoqin tossed the jade over, he turned back around. If he ended up falling off the horse because he wasn't looking, he would be the only one that suffered.
Xiao Siyuan saw that He Xiaoqin had turned around, he looked down at the jade piece in his hand. His heart was pounding hard as he carefully examined the jade piece. His gentle gaze darkened as he looked at this jade. Why would He Xiaoqin have this jade?
He said that it was something he chanced upon. Was that really true?
He wasn't the only one puzzled, He Xiaoqin was also very puzzled. Although he had turned around, from time to time he would glance back to see Xiao Siyuan's expression. When he saw that Xiao Siyuan was looking at the jade with an expression of grief and reminiscence, he felt like a cat was tickling his heart again. What exactly was with this Xiao Siyuan?
Did he recognize this piece of jade?
It must be known that it was that hateful couple who had left this piece of jade. Afterwards, it had been around his neck the entire time. The only people who had seen this jade before aside from that couple was him and his grandpa, so how could this Xiao Siyuan possibly recognize it?
He couldn't get to an answer despite all his wondering, so he gave up on thinking about it and pulled on the reins to wait in place for a while for Xiao Siyuan's horse to catch up. Then he released the reins and rode next to Xiao Siyuan.
"Big Brother Xiao!" He Xiaoqin stopped pretending and directly asked, "Does this jade have a background?"
Xiao Siyuan had only been absent-minded for a brief moment. When He Xiaoqin spoke, he had already snapped out of the feelings that the sight of this broken jade caused to surface. He glanced towards He Xiaoqin with a smile and passed the jade back to him. "My apologies, I got it wrong. There's nothing special about this jade."
He Xiaoqin was a little disappointed to hear this. He thought for a moment that this jade had some sort of background.
However, the disappointment soon passed. He took the jade and put it back on. "Just as I thought. If this jade had a background, why would it be with me?"
After saying that, he laughed loudly.
Xiao Siyuan smiled along as he asked, "Oh? What do you mean?"
"Actually, earlier I had just been answering casually. This jade is actually something Grandpa gave me. He said that it was the only thing my parents left, so he gave it to me to remember them by."
When He Xiaoqin said the word parents, a trace of loathing flashed across his face, but was soon concealed by his laughter.
However, Xiao Siyuan conspicuously stiffened when he heard these words. "It's something your parents left? You parents are?"
"I already said that it's something they left. They had left while I was still very little, so how could I possibly know who they were?" He Xiaoqin shrugged as he replied in an unconcerned tone.
"When you were very little…" muttered Xiao Siyuan. His gaze then fixed on He Xiaoqin fervently. "How old are you this year?"
Although He Xiaoqin didn't like how Xiao Siyuan was asking questions like he was investigating his family tree, he didn't want to ruin the atmosphere just because of a little annoyance when they were finally talking, so he answered, "I'm fourteen this year."
Xiao Siyuan's body stiffened again and his expression became a little stirred up. "Do you have a birthmark on your shoulder? It looks like a red fox?"
"Oh, there is…" He Xiaoqin reflexively answered, then his eyes widened and he hastily pulled the horse away from Xiao Siyuan warily. "Who are you? How did you know that?"
"I…" I'm your biological older brother!
Xiao Siyuan really wanted to say this, but he glanced around and forced the impulse down. "I happened to see it when you were taking off the jade earlier."
"Oh."
It was clear that He Xiaoqin wouldn't believe this kind of answer easily. He looked at Xiao Siyuan suspiciously, then glanced down at his clothes. Back at Ten Kilometers Cliff, he had taken off his ragged clothing and thrown them down the cliff in accordance with Su Yi's instructions, so now he was wearing clothes that Su Yi had tossed him, meaning that these were Su Yi's clothes. Although he didn't have a small figure, he was still just fourteen years old. He was much skinnier than Su Yi, who had the figure of a standard grown man. These clothes were very loose and baggy on him.
When the horse jolted him, his front collar had fallen open, which was why Xiao Siyuan happened to see that piece of jade.
When he was lifting his arms to tie the jade back on, that was probably when Xiao Siyuan noticed the birthmark on his shoulder. Although this made sense, He Xiaoqin didn't lower his guard and still stayed far away.
It was best to stay farther away from a man that peeked inside other people's clothes all the time.
Xiao Siyuan saw that He Xiaoqin was on guard against him, but he didn't rush to explain and just looked ahead to focus on traveling.
On the surface, Xiao Siyuan seemed very calm. However, the huge waves running through his heart weren't stopping at all. He never thought that such a coincidence would occur. He actually encountered here, in this situation, his long-lost younger brother!
Fourteen years ago, he had also been a child.
He still remembered how his younger brother had been born on a stormy night. Since Mother had lost too much blood, everyone in the courtyard was frantically trying to save her. After this just born younger brother was cleaned up, a maid placed him in his room so they could sleep together.
He had still been a kid back then so he only faintly recalled the sight of his younger brother's bright wide eyes looking around curiously. He was lying next to his younger brother and watching him with a strange feeling.
What he remembered the most clearly was that there was a fox-shaped birthmark on his younger brother's shoulder.
He didn't remember what happened later, but this cute younger brother seemed to vanish from the face of the earth and never appeared in his life again. Not long later, their parents were brutally murdered by someone, and he had never been able to find this younger brother who he had only been with one night.
That piece of broken jade was just as He Xiaoqin said, it was their maternal family heirloom. He had seen it in Mother's bedroom multiple times and had even been beaten by Father for sneaking it out to show off. That time, he had ended up in bed for three entire days. That was the only time he had even been beaten, so he recognized that jade from the first glance. It was Mother's jade.
But for some reason, one piece broke off.
The two that had originally started talking together now pulled apart.
When the person hidden in the shadows saw, he smiled coldly before looking down again.
With this, he just happened to miss the motion of Baili Yu lowering the curtain with a meaningful expression.
He hadn't watched, but the two in the chrysanthemum glass jade palanquin had seen everything. Mu Ye was still the same and hadn't expressed anything, but Su Yi was completely different. When he saw Baili Yu lower the curtain, he snickered. "Young Baili, you had brought Xiao Siyuan on purpose just to lure this person out. However, you're not making a move even though this person has shown himself? What evil plans are you up to now?"
Baili Yu glanced over at him with a smile, "City Lord Su's guess is wrong this time. I didn't have Siyuan come over to lure this person out. I had him come because of Doudou."
Su Yi scoffed when he heard this. "No one has blamed you yet for not scrambling to find Doudou, but you still shouldn't push everything onto my disciple, alright?"
"He Xiaoqin's parents, the people Doudou were investigating earlier—does City Lord Su know who they are?" In reality, he hadn't known about this at first either. However, after Mo Yun was brought back by the maids, she asked to see him and told him about He Xiaoqin's parents.
Since this matter was related to Tang Doudou, Su Yi wasn't as unconcerned as before and became curious. He had also been puzzled why Tang Doudou had decided to investigate a little beggar all of a sudden.
"Stop trying to be suspenseful and just tell me already."
Baili Yu narrowed his eyes as he slowly twisted his thumb ring. "He Xiaoqin's father was a well-known figure in the younger generation of the four large clans twenty years ago. He was Xiao Li."
"Xiao Li?" Su Yi tilted his head as he thought about it, then he exclaimed in realization, it was that kid!"
"Xiao Li, who was from a branch line, had been in the limelight more than the son from the main family, which was Xiao Qian's son, Xiao Fengyi. At a young age, he established the stunning Swift Blade Faction and was also famous for his fearless romance with the Demonic Sect's sacred maiden, Yin Shenger. In the end, in order to be together with Yin Shenger, Xiao Li broke off ties with the Xiao family and they left to live in seclusion. At that time, they gave birth to their first son, Xiao Siyuan.
"They passed five years calmly. Yin Shenger became pregnant with their second child, but that year, Xiao Li accepted a challenge from Murong Yu of the Murong family. He lost in one strike and was severely injured. When he returned home, people kept coming to cause trouble, making it impossible for them to live peacefully. Just as Yin Shenger was about to go into labor, news that the orthodox sect wanted to kill the demonic maiden spread."
"To protect their children, Xiao Li and Yin Shenger sent the five-year-old Xiao Yi back to the Xiao family and were preparing to send their baby son to Yin Shenger's older brother. However, on the way, they encountered complications. In order to save the child's life, they abandoned him in an old temple outside North Hara City. This child is He Xiaoqin."
When Su Yi heard these secrets, he became very interested, so when Baili Yu stopped, he immediately urged him to continue. "And then? And then what happened?"
