Amnesiac General and Infatuated Brothel Keeper 5

When those patrons woke up, they looked at Su Jinzhi as if they were looking at a ghost. They ran away before even properly putting on their clothes. Su Jinzhi lay sickly on the bed, feeling like he was going to drop dead from staying up all night.

The only thing worth being happy about was that after he took Li Feng's place to receive guests last night, Ping'an's Progress Value had filled up.

Li Feng came over to see him, supported by Ping'an. Seeing the cut on his forehead, his eyes instantly reddened, and he hurriedly called for a doctor to treat his injuries. After his forehead was bandaged, Li Feng even wanted to strip off his clothes to check for injuries on his body, but Su Jinzhi clutched his collar tightly, refusing to let him see no matter what.

What a joke. There were no injuries on his body at all. Wouldn't he be exposed if Li Feng saw?

However, Li Feng thought he was embarrassed. His eyes grew even redder. He sat on the edge of the bed wiping his tears for a while before suddenly stuffing something hard and cold into his hand.

Su Jinzhi picked it up to look and realized it was actually the Blood Jade left by Jiang Lishan.

Li Feng said, "I know you have someone in your heart."

Su Jinzhi raised his head to look at him.

"When you first came here, you had a fever all day. Ping'an and I took care of you together. At that time, you loved to clutch this piece of jade and call out that person's name." Li Feng touched his hair. "I'm leaving, so I'll return this jade to you."

Su Jinzhi held the piece of jade and asked Li Feng, "Li... Madam, where are you going?"

Li Feng smiled slightly, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. "I grew up in Huaqi Pavilion since I was a child and have never been outside. Now that you are here to look after the pavilion, I can leave with peace of mind and go see the outside world."

Hearing his words, Su Jinzhi felt something wasn't quite right. This sounded exactly like leaving final words.

No. 1 suddenly spoke up: "Those are his final words."

Su Jinzhi asked, "He's going to die?!"

"Yes." No. 1 replied, "He can probably live for another three or four months."

Su Jinzhi looked at Li Feng, who was still smiling as if nothing was wrong, and remained silent.

Li Feng continued to instruct him, "The children in the pavilion are mostly people who have no other way out. Once they have saved enough ransom money, let them go."

Su Jinzhi nodded, and Li Feng left his room.

The next day, Li Feng left alone with the savings he had accumulated over the years. Not even his close attendant Ping'an knew where he went. He handed over the indentured servitude contracts of the young escorts in Huaqi Pavilion to Su Jinzhi for safekeeping. And Su Jinzhi, because of his heroic act of "stepping forward to receive guests" that night, established an unshakable prestige in Huaqi Pavilion.

Su Jinzhi found Huaqi Pavilion's account book and checked it, discovering that their pavilion was actually quite rich. Even if they ran out of money, it would be fine; he could just casually receive a few guests and they would have money again. But even so, Su Jinzhi was still a bit worried.

"Li Feng left, and his Progress Value isn't full yet. How am I supposed to continue doing tasks?"

No. 0 comforted him, "It's okay, Lord Host. There are still many Salvation Targets waiting for you to save them."

Su Jinzhi: "..." He felt he hadn't been comforted in the slightest.

Su Jinzhi counted the days and realized it was about time for Xile to appear. So he took a stroll around the human trafficker market and brought the person back. What surprised him slightly was that ever since Li Feng left, Qiu Yi started wearing embroidered clothes. The garments were still the original frost-white, but the sleeves and hem were embroidered with crabapple blossoms. He was also no longer as resistant to receiving guests as before, and his Progress Value was rising day by day.

He felt it was a bit strange, so he discussed this matter with No. 1.

No. 1 said there was nothing strange about it; he had probably figured out some things that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time and began to love life and living.

Su Jinzhi thought about it and agreed, so he didn't continue to dwell on Qiu Yi.

Days passed by plainly like this until the Mid-Autumn Festival three months later, when Li Feng's Progress Value suddenly maxed out. Su Jinzhi looked at the "100/100" in the progress panel column but couldn't bring himself to be happy no matter what.

He asked No. 1, "Is Li Feng dead?"

No. 1 said, "Yes."

Su Jinzhi was silent for a moment before asking again, "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Is Li Feng with his family?"

No. 1 told him, "Li Feng has no more family, but he found his sister's grave. They will probably be buried together."

That night, Su Jinzhi didn't sleep. He went alone to the roof to drink.

The next day, Xile came to tell him that Ping'an had committed suicide by throwing himself into a well. Su Jinzhi immediately thought of that handsome youth who always followed behind Li Feng with a smile. He felt that things couldn't go on like this and asked No. 0 if it could speed up the world line. He found this world a bit depressing.

No. 0 said it could speed it up by seven years, jumping straight to the point in time when another branch Salvation Target appeared, but he would have to pay a price.

Su Jinzhi asked No. 0 what the price was.

No. 0 said, "It's just that Lord Host will fall ill according to Jun Changle's original fate trajectory."

"What kind of price is that?" Su Jinzhi asked. "Just getting sick?"

No. 0 said, "Mhm, yep."

Su Jinzhi said, "Then it's fine. I remember Jun Changle dies in ten years, right? Even if we speed up by seven years, I still won't die. Bring it on, I'm not afraid."

No. 0 hesitated, "Um... alright then."

Then Su Jinzhi fell asleep.

He felt like he must have had a nightmare. The moment he woke up, his head spun, and he had the illusion that the whole world was collapsing. He closed his eyes and opened them again, leaning against the edge of the bed and clutching his chest as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Hearing the commotion in the room, Xile pushed open the door and ran towards him with red eyes, throwing himself at the side of the bed crying, "Madam! You're finally awake!"

Qiu Yi came in behind Xile and helped him up from the ground. "It's a good thing the young master has woken up, why are you crying? Didn't the young master tell you to stop calling him Madam? If he hears what you're saying now, he might get sick from anger again..."

Xile, who had been crying non-stop, immediately fell silent after hearing these words, sobbing quietly to the side.

After coughing up blood, Su Jinzhi leaned against the side, gasping for breath. He only felt as if a heavy boulder weighing a thousand catties was pressing on his chest, making it stuffy and painful. His vision was blurry and he couldn't see clearly. His temples were throbbing, his eardrums were buzzing, and bursts of churning in his stomach made his throat sour and nauseous. He was exhaling more than inhaling, feeling like he couldn't catch his breath and was about to die.

Qiu Yi walked to his side, supported him, and asked carefully, "Young Master... are you alright?"

Su Jinzhi sorted through the seven-year memory package No. 0 had transmitted to him and gently rubbed his temples, saying, "I'm fine. What's happening downstairs? Is someone causing trouble again?"

Xile cried, "How can you be fine! Young Master, you vomited blood again... Wu..."

"They are clamoring and insisting on seeing you, Young Master..." Qiu Yi nudged Xile, signaling him to stop talking.

"It's an old ailment. Help me up, I'll go downstairs and take a look." Su Jinzhi sighed, speaking these words casually. In reality, he was almost scared to death inside. The feeling he had when undergoing treatment for late-stage organ failure at Naxi Port was similar to this, but back then, he had drugs to numb the pain, so the discomfort wasn't even as intense as it was now. He knew this was the point in time when Yun Mengchen appeared, but let alone going downstairs, he felt that if he even got out of bed, he would likely ascend to heaven and kick the bucket.

Su Jinzhi desperately called out to No. 0 in his heart: "No. 0! No. 0!"

No. 0 immediately responded, "What is it, Lord Host? No. 0 is here!"

Su Jinzhi asked it, "Am I really not going to die? I feel like I'm about to die!"

No. 0 answered him quickly without the slightest pause, "Don't worry, Lord Host, you won't die. Next, you just need to make Yun Mengchen stay, and he will treat your illness. Then you can continue living for another three years!"

Su Jinzhi asked again, "What if I can't make him stay?"

No. 0's voice weakened a notch: "Don't worry, Lord Host. Even if all the targets' Progress Values fall back to 0 points, you won't die. It's just that..."

Su Jinzhi said coldly, "Oh, I'll be tortured to death by No. 1."

Then he might as well die of illness.

No. 0 let out a "hee hee" laugh and didn't reply.

Su Jinzhi felt that this laughter was full of malice, so he stopped chatting with No. 0 and let Xile tie his hair and dress him before going downstairs.

According to the timeline, the original owner Jun Changle should have already stopped receiving guests by now, not because he was tired of this kind of brothel life, but because his body could no longer handle it.

After taking over Huaqi Pavilion from Li Feng, the young escorts under him became the luckiest among the five kingdoms. He protected those who were unwilling to sell their bodies, letting them be pure performers; he also let those who were willing to sell themselves do as they pleased, allowing them to redeem themselves at will. Anyway, the guests who came to Huaqi Pavilion were mostly here for Jun Changle—even though he no longer took bedroom guests after his coming-of-age ceremony, there were still people in the five kingdoms willing to squander a fortune just to see him once.

He fulfilled his promise to Li Feng. No one in Huaqi Pavilion didn't live comfortably and happily, but Jun Changle hadn't been truly happy for a single day. He didn't have Su Jinzhi's welfare buff; he took guests for real, enduring torment and humiliation. The illness and sorrow accumulated in his heart over the years eventually burned his short life to ashes.

Su Jinzhi rapidly browsed through Jun Changle's memories in his mind. Downstairs, there were six or seven luxuriously dressed youths waiting. Seeing him appear, they all turned to look at him in unison. Aside from being stunned by his beauty, their eyes held only contempt and disdain. The only exception was a handsome, elegant youth in white clothes. Unlike the others, there was not a hint of lust in the gaze he cast over; there was only open appreciation and concern.

Su Jinzhi glanced at the blue bar floating above his head and instantly knew this was his other branch Salvation Target—Yun Mengchen of Ghost Cloud Valley.

Yun Mengchen was known to the public as a divine doctor, but in reality, he was the Young Master of Ghost Cloud Valley. He could have gone to a broader world, but because of a promise made over a game of chess back then, he stayed in this Huaqi Pavilion and took care of Jun Changle for three whole years, right up until his death.

At that time, Yun Mengchen had just left the valley, a naive and sweet innocent. He mistakenly befriended a few wealthy aristocrats with poor character, and those aristocrats invited him to Huaqi Pavilion to listen to Jun Changle sing.

Looking at this current situation, it was probably happening today.