Chapter 68: The Gift of Treasures

According to Xiao Hongyu, the body he now inhabited originally belonged to the eldest son of the Prince of Beiping Commandery. However, when the prince’s consort died in childbirth, the prince immediately elevated his favored concubine of the Liang family to the position of consort. He then placed his eldest son in the care of another concubine, declaring to the outside world that the boy was a secondary son. Less than eight months after the Liang woman assumed her new status, she gave birth to a son for the prince. The prince doted on this son, naming him his successor, while his true-born eldest son became a joke in the eyes of others.

Not long after, the prince, unwilling to even lay eyes on the child of his original consort, sent him off to Kangle County, far from Beiping, appointing him as a minor general at the northern border. The day Xiao Hongyu arrived in this world was precisely when the original owner, Xiao Yu, was leading his two hundred men in a desperate defense against the invading Qianghu tribes. Their unit suffered heavy losses and, after finally breaking through the encirclement, their whereabouts were betrayed by a traitor within their own ranks. In the end, he did not die at the hands of the enemy, but rather was killed by his own brother.

At the moment of awakening, the owner of this body became Xiao Hongyu. Relying on his tenacious will, Xiao Hongyu dragged his battered body alone for two days and nights, using the original owner’s memories to find his way back to the base in Kangle County, escaping death by the narrowest margin.

“That...Yue’er...no, I’d better call you Physician Wang for now,” Xiao Hongyu began. He had intended to address her as “Sister Yue’er,” but upon seeing her elderly appearance, the words stuck in his throat.

“I’ll be returning to the northern military camp the day after tomorrow and will remain there for a month or so. Take this jade pendant. It serves as the token of the General Who Guards the North in Beiping Commandery and holds a certain authority over the officials in neighboring counties. If you ever have urgent need of me, you can use this token to have the post relay a letter to me at top speed—eight hundred li in a day,” he explained.

Hearing this, Wang Keyue pondered for a moment. In this era, correspondence even at such speeds would take several days. If only there were cell phones in this world, she thought wistfully.

That thought suddenly reminded her of something in the system’s marketplace: an ultra-long-range wireless visual communicator—it was, in essence, a cellphone!

But the price was steep: two thousand gold coins, and its functions were limited to basic calls. Unsure of her current net worth, Wang Keyue decided to take stock of her finances before making any decisions.

Setting these thoughts aside, she accepted the white jade pendant without further hesitation. It was cool and weighty in her hand.

Seeing her accept the token, Xiao Hongyu rose and rummaged through a bundle at his side, retrieving a small, exquisitely crafted wooden box, just the size of a palm.

“What’s this?” Wang Keyue asked, curious about what he would present next.

“Oh, didn’t I mention before? In addition to the four thousand silver notes, I have another treasure for you,” Xiao Hongyu replied with a mysterious air.

“A treasure? What kind of treasure?” Despite some embarrassment at accepting such gifts, Wang Keyue’s curiosity compelled her to open the box.

“You’ll know when you see it!” Xiao Hongyu found himself oddly expectant, as if speaking to a clever young girl through the disguise of this elderly figure before him.

Unable to resist, Wang Keyue opened the box. The object inside struck her as strangely familiar. She looked closer—wasn’t this the very miniature crossbow produced by the system?

She subtly brushed her left wrist; the crossbow inside the box was identical to the one strapped there, as if both had rolled off the same assembly line.

With a soft hiss, Wang Keyue pressed her aching temples. So much strangeness had happened today that her mind, already taxed, struggled to keep up.

Having overexerted herself mentally, and now faced with yet another inexplicable event, she felt as if her brain cells were nearly depleted.

“Hey, are you alright? Is it a headache? Or do you not like it?” Xiao Hongyu, who had expected her to be delighted with the gift, was surprised to see only confusion and astonishment on her face.

“Where did you get this?” she asked directly, unable to make sense of it all.

“Heh, that’s a secret.” To her surprise, the man who had spoken so freely until now suddenly grew reticent.

Far from being annoyed, Wang Keyue found his reserve appropriate. After all, she too had secrets she could not share with this man before her.

The two of them, strangers in a strange world, were fellow countrymen, yet this was their first true meeting. They knew nothing of each other’s character. That they could speak so frankly already demonstrated a remarkable degree of trust.

Time would tell. When the day came that they both regarded the other as a trustworthy comrade-in-arms, secrets would cease to be secrets.

Wang Keyue was taken aback for only a moment, then offered the man across from her a gentle, sincere smile. Even through this false exterior, the meaning was clear in her lively, dark eyes—as if to say, “No need to explain, I understand.”