CH 89

As soon as these words were spoken, both Si Di and Hedgehog’s gazes fell squarely on Xiao Zhenyun’s face, and Hedgehog even raised an eyebrow at him, “What’s with the voice?”

“…Got a cold.”

“And the leg?… Wearing a prosthetic? Can you take a couple of steps for me to see?”

“…” Xiao Zhenyun had intended to go get hot water, but upon hearing this, he handed the water cup directly to Si Di and sat down. Hedgehog chuckled satisfactorily at his reaction.

“What’s my specialty?” Xiao Zhenyun asked, chuckling softly himself, “I don’t even know what my specialty is.”

Hedgehog teased, “You don’t need to pretend in front of me… besides, pretending won’t help, your past actions are pretty clear even without checking.”

“So, did you check?” Xiao Zhenyun took the water cup and made room for Si Di on the bed. Si Di sat down beside him, holding the cup of cold water, and immediately drank most of it after sitting down.

“I did.” Hedgehog, having finished his noodles but still not satisfied, took out a bag of potato chips from his jacket pocket and started stuffing them into his mouth one by one, “Can’t blame me, you guys were quite extravagant with your play, anyone would be curious and check it out.”

After a pause, he gave Xiao Zhenyun a thumbs-up, “You’re good.”

Then, with his other hand, he gave Si Di a thumbs-up, “You’re even better… Is he still into that stuff?”

Before Si Di could answer, Hedgehog continued, talking to himself, “Probably still into it, after all, sexual fetishes are ingrained and hard to change, the more suppressed, the more twisted.”

Si Di couldn’t explain that Xiao Zhenyun had never been into those things in the first place. If there was any suppression, it was only his smoking habit, but it wasn’t severe. Normally, Xiao Zhenyun didn’t smell of tobacco, and his mouth didn’t taste like it when they kissed.

He turned to Xiao Zhenyun, who remained expressionless, seemingly accustomed to being scapegoated, prompting Si Di to pat his shoulder reassuringly.

Xiao Zhenyun glanced at him for this small gesture, noticing the heavier resignation in Si Di’s eyes than in his own, which oddly lifted his mood. He smiled slightly, feeling inclined to continue bantering with Hedgehog. “Si Di doesn’t approve, so I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

“That’s true love.” Hedgehog nodded, looking convinced, though it was unclear whether genuinely or not. He changed the subject, “But I need you to pick up the old skills you gave up for love and help me out with a small favor.”

He quickly explained, “The task I’m handling involves a secretive gathering within our country’s circles. One of the big shots, who is rarely seen in public, is confirmed to attend with his tamed submissives1In Dominance and submission (D/s), both parties take pleasure or erotic enjoyment from either dominating or being dominated. It is a subset of BDSM. Those who take the superior position—commanding and controlling—are called dominants, or Doms, while those who take the subordinate position—submitting to someone else’s will, literally putting their own desires lower than theirs—are called submissives, or subs. A switch is an individual who plays either role. in the event. One of my employer’s kids is among them, and he hopes I can discreetly rescue his brainwashed child from this gathering.”

“…” Xiao Zhenyun’s mind had already drifted beyond his comprehension due to Hedgehog’s words, but he had to pretend as if nothing was amiss.

“…” This was Si Di, who had once delved into related knowledge due to the guide’s peculiar fetish, even boasting that he could tolerate bondage2Bondage, in the BDSM subculture, is the practice of consensually tying, binding, or restraining a partner for erotic, aesthetic, or somatosensory stimulation. A partner may be physically restrained in a variety of ways, including the use of rope, cuffs, bondage tape, or self-adhering bandage. and flagellation3Flagellation is the act of whipping the human body by using flexible instruments such as the whip, the scourge, or cat-o’-nine-tails..

He hadn’t even had the chance to mention that perhaps Shibari4Shibari/Kinbaku means ‘tight binding’, while Kinbaku-bi literally means ‘the beauty of tight binding’. Kinbaku is a Japanese style of bondage or BDSM which involves tying a person up using simple yet visually intricate patterns, usually with several pieces of thin rope. could also work.

Hedgehog continued, “Currently, my progress is stuck on how to attend that gathering. I managed to access their website and invested a large sum to become a member, but I can’t complete the 50 questions needed to obtain the invitation to the gathering. They’re all abbreviations and jargon, so I need someone knowledgeable in this field.”

He snapped his fingers, “Xiao Zhenyun, I believe this should be a piece of cake for you.”

“I’ve been out of that circle for a long time,” Xiao Zhenyun insisted reluctantly, “The culture there evolves rapidly, and I’m not up to the task.”

“Don’t be modest.” Hedgehog pulled out a terminal from the same pocket where he kept his chips, swiftly typing away amidst a flurry of dazzling code lines. He directly accessed the website, with its purely black background and minimalist login interface, only showing spaces for entering the username and password.

Hedgehog then pulled out a small box containing fingerprint films and iris contact lenses, explaining, “I’m using a fake identity. The website requires fingerprint and iris scans for login.”

Xiao Zhenyun quickly stopped him, pointing at his own terminal, “My son’s video call.”

“Oh, that weird kid.” Hedgehog put away the box and picked up the bag of chips again. “You guys go ahead, I’m not in a hurry. The invitation activities will continue until next Monday, which is the day before the gathering. As long as we complete it before then.”

Even if it continued until next year, he wouldn’t be able to complete it because he simply wasn’t part of the circle.

Xiao Zhenyun silently walked to the balcony and connected the video call. Si Di kindly grabbed some of Hedgehog’s chips to eat and asked if Hedgehog had any backup candidates for answering the questions. He earnestly advised the Dark Sentinel not to risk everything on Xiao Zhenyun, or he would definitely end up losing everything.

Hedgehog squinted suspiciously, “You guys aren’t refusing to help me because it’s troublesome, are you? Black Wolf, I’ve saved your deer’s life before, more than once. It’s only right and proper for both of you to lend a hand in this matter. This is my last task for the old employer. After completing it, I can retire with honors, and I’ll be able to live next door to Xiao Zhenyun. Aren’t you always worried about him being alone in the wilderness? With me protecting him, you can rest assured.”

You’re not really trying to protect Xiao Zhenyun, you just want to see how much more extravagant this guide can be, preferably greening me every day.

Si Di sucked in a breath of cool air. “Well, I’m only saying this because I’m grateful… Xiao Zhenyun’s brain has been malfunctioning in recent years. …Ah, you dark sentinels are really not human. This is too spicy…” Stimulated by the spicy potato chips, he drank the rest of the water in his cup in one gulp, then went to the fridge to grab a bottle of ice-cold antidote to soothe his burning throat.

Hedgehog grinned and licked the chili powder off the chips, “S-rank Sentinel, useless.”

“But I have a spiritual link with the guide to help me control my senses.” Si Di hummed at him with the ice water in his mouth, “Aren’t you jealous?”

Xiao Nian’s speed in coming to question them this time was a bit slow; it was already evening when he reacted. Probably used to things going wrong, he was completely Zen.

After the holographic screen popped up, Xiao Nian was indeed full of ‘may the Buddha be merciful,’ holding a plate of exquisitely sliced fruits, probably prepared by Si’s mother.

“Tell me what happened…” He took a bite of mango, “Why did things turn out like this.”

“I don’t know, unclear, not sure.” Xiao Zhenyun answered truthfully, then quickly mentioned Jefferson’s medicine before provoking Xiao Nian.

“Colorless and tasteless, just a whiff and you pass out?” Xiao Nian put down the fruit plate, puzzled. “Isn’t this the drug ‘you’ used on Si Chu in the original? And that aphrodisiac that accurately distinguishes attributes, you also gave it to Si Chu in the original. You almost had him that time, but later when he was delirious, he kept muttering Ye Feiran’s name, unwilling to be humiliated, and you got so mad you slapped him and left.”

Xiao Zhenyun was quite familiar with this plotline, but because he couldn’t find an aphrodisiac with such strong effects that didn’t harm the body, and more importantly, he was too lazy to follow the plotline so meticulously, he let it slide.

Xiao Nian noticed the crucial point, “Jefferson Barlow, could he be the foreigner who was chatting with ‘Xiao Zhenyun’ at the Peach Blossom Club?”

Xiao Zhenyun suddenly realized, “Ah!”

“…” Xiao Nian couldn’t even be bothered to mock Xiao Zhenyun for just saying ‘Ah’. He sighed, “Forget it, what’s the use of knowing this? Are you going to tie him up again and force him to obsess about Ye Feiran?”

“No, it’s very useful.” Xiao Zhenyun said, “As long as we can capture him again, we can find another brown-haired foreigner to obsess about Ye Feiran.”

Xiao Nian: “…?”

“By the way, this deviation from the plot this time, to be honest, has little to do with me. I’ve already wrapped up my part, so consider it extra work I’m doing for your sake.” Xiao Zhenyun suddenly said, “You owe me a favor.”

Xiao Nian didn’t argue about the significance of the matter; he only said, “If you have a request, just ask directly. Let’s not talk about the revival of Xiao Jiali from the ashes that have been scattered.”

“…” Xiao Zhenyun, “Then I have nothing more to say.”

Xiao Nian, annoyed, stuffed a whole tangerine into his mouth, muttering, “That kid is really lucky. His grave should have been overgrown with grass long ago, yet he can still linger in our mind…”

“Linger… in… our… mind?”

“…” Xiao Nian angrily hung up the phone.

Xiao Zhenyun walked back into the room and went straight to the point, “Is Jefferson still at the hot spring hotel, or has he already fled the country overnight?”

His earlier move to take the video call on the balcony was a way to avoid confrontation, so Si Di and Hedgehog didn’t eavesdrop on their conversation and didn’t know why Xiao Zhenyun was asking this, but their professionalism as sentinels made them answer promptly—

“He’s still here,” Si Di said, “I intercepted him at the airport before receiving Hedgehog.”

“Yeah, he’s currently freezing in the trunk of my car.” Hedgehog opened another pack of honey-flavored plum cakes, and this time Si Di could finally share with him.

Truly reliable partners, their answers greatly satisfied Xiao Zhenyun, but he couldn’t help but wonder, “How did you guys…”

“He scared my little brother to tears,” Si Di tossed the small bag of plum cakes to Xiao Zhenyun, “It’s normal for me to play a little dirty, right? I just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine, can’t let Xiao Chu suffer for nothing. Now, do you have any other use for him?”

“Well done.” Xiao Zhenyun took the plum cakes. “Hedgehog, go downstairs and bring him from the car.”

Hedgehog paused in unwrapping the package, then realized, and chewed on the plum cake before jumping down from the balcony. His viper leaped from the air as well, snatching a piece of plum cake with its fangs, as if it had been longing for it for a long time, then leisurely followed the outer wall down the drainage pipe.

Less than ten minutes later, he appeared again on the balcony, carrying a huge black bag.

Jefferson, who had been physically knocked out at the airport and had since woken up in the trunk, was struggling non-stop. Hedgehog pinned him down like a little chick, tying his limbs firmly to the chair, before finally removing the hood from his head.

Three men wearing masks stood in front of him in a neat line. Jefferson now looked more miserable than when he was suffocating and drowning in the hot spring last time. He was so scared that he was speaking in his native language, babbling and begging for mercy.

“Calm down.” Xiao Zhenyun frowned. “We’re not going to kill you.”

Jefferson kept babbling in his native language, so Si Di immediately interrupted, “Speak Chinese, we don’t understand.”

Ten seconds later, seeing no effect, Hedgehog pulled out a handgun from his waist, cocked it with a click, and pressed it against Jefferson’s temple. “Can you understand human language now?”

“I understand, I understand.” Jefferson’s strange accented Mandarin immediately filled the room. “Don’t kill me, I know I was wrong.”

“We won’t kill you if you help us.”

Hedgehog opened the screen of the pre-logged website, copied all the questions on it onto a blank sheet, and showed the pure test paper to Jefferson. “Answer these 50 questions for me. If you get one wrong, you…” The muzzle moved down from his temple until it was between his thighs. “Won’t be safe here.”

Xiao Zhenyun had also been threatened by Si Di in a similar manner before, so he understood Jefferson’s momentary terror very well.

“W-what questions?” Jefferson’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat, blinking hard to keep his vision from blurring. “I don’t have a high education level, I might not be able to…”

“Don’t worry, it’s your specialty.” Hedgehog mocked Jefferson with familiar tone and vocabulary, and Si Di chuckled, “Can a regular at the Peach Blossom Club not know this?”

Jefferson widened his eyes in surprise. “How do you know…”

“We know a lot, Jefferson Barlow. You better answer the questions properly, and don’t get any funny ideas.” Xiao Zhenyun’s voice was cold and gravelly, enhancing the terrifying effect.

Jefferson immediately trembled with fear. “I’ll answer, just don’t kill me!”

Among the 50 questions, there were 15 multiple-choice questions, 10 multiple-answer questions, 10 true or false questions, 10 fill-in-the-blank questions, and 5 short answer questions.

The initial 10 entry-level questions went smoothly. Jefferson’s expertise in sexual sadism far exceeded a certain bootleg Xiao Zhenyun from a transmigrated novel, knowing all kinds of techniques, props, and the relationship between dominants and submissives like the back of his hand. At first, Hedgehog would consult Xiao Zhenyun’s opinion, wanting to know if Jefferson’s answers were correct. In his view, Xiao Zhenyun might be lacking in depth, but he definitely wouldn’t be clueless.

But upon discovering that Xiao Zhenyun was even more clueless than him, he muttered in confusion, “Is his brain really squeezed?”

As they reached the later 20 questions, they encountered a rather tricky problem… the language barrier.

Jefferson’s Chinese proficiency was limited, evident from his poor accent. While verbal communication was not a problem for everyday expressions, when it came to written language, as the words grew complex, he couldn’t understand the questions.

So the group began to translate for him. Some slang terms and abbreviations were impossible to translate, stumbling through another 10 questions, leaving all four people in the room at a loss.

Jefferson shivered as he tried to defend himself, “I really want to help you guys, but I really… can’t do it. Is there a translator? Give me a translator.”

“Is there a translator?” Hedgehog painfully grabbed his hair. “I’ve been out of school for ten years, why do I still have to do a paper?”

Si Di pressed his head, not wanting his wolf ears to pop out. “It’s the middle of the night, where are we going to find a translator? Plus, his native language is a minority language.”

“We have a translator.” Xiao Zhenyun suddenly said, “There’s one downstairs.”

Si Di: “…”

In the spiritual link, Xiao Zhenyun heard his sentinel sigh, “Your heart is really dark… After imprisoning Xiao Chu in the basement, you still made him risk his life to fight for you. Now you’re preparing to drug Ye Feiran, and you still want him to stay up late to translate for you. You’ve really sold him out and still want him to count the money for you…”

The author has something to say:

Xiao Zhenyun: Standard procedure

Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ