The moment the ger mentioned the ancient beastman, the previous gloom vanished, replaced by sheer joy, the affection in his eyes nearly overflowing.
"Brother, Brother Heng is truly very good to me. He treats me especially well. Back in Danmu tribe, he spoiled me utterly rotten."
Xi Ning chuckled lightly at this. "I can tell. After you went missing this time and came back, your temperament has brightened considerably, and you've opened your heart. I imagine it's all because Yuan Heng took good care of you."
Hearing this, Wang Jin blinked. His major personality change could actually be credited to Yuan Heng?
Though surprised, Wang Jin immediately followed Xi Ning's lead: "So, brother, since Brother Heng is so good, please agree to us, okay? Hmm?"
"......" Xi Ning hesitated.
Even if this ancient beastman had a thousand, ten thousand good points, there was one fatal flaw...
Their ancient beastman kind had difficulty conceiving offspring...
Their Xi family had such sparse numbers...
Xi Ning glanced at his younger brother before him. The other was staring at him with clear, bright eyes, the expectation in them making it impossible for him to utter a refusal...
Finally, he let out a long sigh and relaxed his furrowed brows. "Fine. When he and Cheng Bai return, we'll follow your wishes."
Wang Jin was happy, but then remembered the matter of the two suddenly leaving to hunt. He was just about to ask when Xi Ning stood up. "Alright, you've been causing a stir since you just woke up. Rest properly now. Wait for the healer to prepare your new prescription. I'm going back now, there are still some matters to handle."
"......" Asking about this matter wasn't urgent. Brother Heng was so powerful, he wasn't worried about him getting into trouble.
Wang Jin nodded obediently and lay down as Xi Ning directed.
Xi Ning then left with his attendants. After he left, the healer also hurriedly left the prescription and departed.
In Pan Shulin's room, a clear, crisp sound of a porcelain bowl shattering on the floor was heard.
"What?!" Pan Shulin stood up in a panic. "Xi Yao remembered?"
"Young master, don't be anxious yet. He remembered a part, but he hasn't remembered what we did before. It's just... the healer changed his prescription." The servant replied with a grim expression.
Pan Shulin swallowed hard. "If Xi Yao takes the new medicine, did the healer say specifically how many days it would take for him to remember everything?"
"I don't know... The healer said a few days, probably just these next few days..." The servant replied in a trembling voice, his heart filled with panic and helplessness.
Pan Shulin said, "No, he can't take that medicine. What about the healer's little beastman?"
"He was found and taken back by people just now. I did as you instructed, young master, and told the people who came that we found the little beastman on the road a few days ago. They didn't seem suspicious."
"Taken back..." Pan Shulin paced back and forth a couple of steps. "Why did he have to be taken back just at this time?"
"Young master, the healer has already written and left the prescription. Keeping the little beastman any longer is useless. Keeping him longer might even cause bigger trouble. It's actually good that he was found and taken back like this." The servant said.
Pan Shulin said, "So you mean, now we can only focus on Xi Yao himself?"
The servant hesitated, then said, "The person in the pavilion said that the City Lord has already promised Xi Yao that once Young Master Cheng and that ancient beastman return, he will let Xi Yao and the ancient beastman marry..."
Pan Shulin's eyes lit up. The servant said tremblingly, "Young master, soon Young Master Cheng and Xi Yao will have no relationship. Now we don't have to worry about him stealing Young Master Cheng from you, but... if he remembers everything from before, that we tried to kill him, caused him to wander outside for so long... he won't let us off."
"...No..." Pan Shulin's eyes darkened. "It's not just that he won't let us off. Even though he and Brother Bai will soon have no marriage contract, Brother Bai has feelings for him in his heart. He must die."
As Pan Shulin spoke, a trace of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. "Now that ancient beastman and Brother Bai are both away, it's the timing we were waiting for before."
The servant's eyes lit up. "Young master, are you saying we should cut our losses and have the person in the pavilion deal with Xi Yao?"
"No." Pan Shulin refused outright. "Since Xi Yao went missing that one time, Xi Ning has become even more protective of him. Making a move in the pavilion, even using hidden poison, is too easy to leave traces. It would be too easy to trace it back to us then... we need another, foolproof method."
After Pan Shulin finished, the servant fell into troubled thought, muttering quietly, "But what method could there be?"
The servant's brow remained tightly furrowed, as if he had no good ideas.
Pan Shulin thought for a while, then asked, "Is the person in the pavilion trustworthy?"
The servant replied, "That person is called Xiao Xin. He loves money, as long as the money is enough, she'll do anything. But confidentiality... probably not..."
"If that's the case..." A calculating glint flashed in Pan Shulin's eyes. He beckoned the servant closer and quietly spoke into his ear...
Perhaps because he had slept so much earlier, Wang Jin found himself unable to drift off after Xi Ning left and he lay down again.
He suspected the man had some other reason for going hunting, but when he questioned the people in the pavilion, they all insisted it was merely a routine hunting trip and that he would return within ten days or so. Even Uncle Shan gave the same answer, leaving him little choice but to accept it.
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