Chapter 177: Good Cop, Bad Cop
Back in their room, night had fallen.
Nan Xiaoxiang stood on the balcony, gazing into the distance, a pensive expression on her face.
Chen Yin walked over and stood beside her. “What are you looking at?”
She didn’t answer.
Chen Yin followed her gaze and saw a young boy hiding behind a tree, looking towards their house.
…It was the younger brother from the other day.
His face was dirty, his eyes filled with resentment and hatred.
He just stood there, silently watching Nan Xiaoxiang’s room.
Even though he knew he couldn’t do anything.
It seemed like his hateful gaze was his last act of defiance.
Chen Yin asked softly, “Did you go see his brother again?”
“I left some medicine at their doorstep.”
Nan Xiaoxiang’s voice was filled with a quiet sadness. “His brother is still bedridden. The younger brother can’t afford the medicine on his own.”
“Didn’t you go inside?”
Nan Xiaoxiang looked at him.
Chen Yin was just teasing. He knew the younger brother wouldn’t let her in.
“You can’t save someone who wants to die.”
Chen Yin stretched lazily. “If he tries that suicidal trial again, don’t bother saving him next time.”
Nan Xiaoxiang shook her head.
“If I see it, I’ll still save him.”
Chen Yin chuckled softly.
“You’re such a foolish woman.”
Nan Xiaoxiang frowned, slightly annoyed by his words. “You seem to have a lot of free time, Young Master Chen, to be teasing me like this.”
“Multitasking is a skill.”
Chen Yin grinned and leaned against the railing, his voice turning serious.
“…I saw someone from Shen Li earlier.”
Nan Xiaoxiang’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Shen Li has contacted the Wu Xuan Cave?”
“Not yet.” Chen Yin shook her head. “They’re trying to recruit the Grand Witch. I suspect she might have obtained a Heavenly Dao Fragment.”
A thoughtful expression crossed Nan Xiaoxiang’s face.
“Can you convince her not to join them?”
Nan Xiaoxiang hesitated.
“I… I don’t know.” Her beautiful face clouded with uncertainty. “I’m not on good terms with her. She might not listen to me.”
“Really? I have faith in you.”
Chen Yin looked at her with a playful smile, making her blush slightly.
“Why?”
“Just a hunch.” He shrugged.
Nan Xiaoxiang assumed he was teasing her again and didn’t take him seriously.
Down below, the younger brother finally left.
Nan Xiaoxiang watched him go, her head lowered.
Chen Yin looked at her and suddenly asked, “Are you hungry?”
Nan Xiaoxiang was about to decline when he added, “We’ve been eating simple meals these past few days. Are you used to it?”
She had never heard such a considerate tone from him and looked at him with surprise.
“What do you mean, Young Master Chen?”
“Nothing.”
Chen Yin glanced in the direction the boy had left and said with a smile, “Let’s have a barbecue.”
In the small hut at the foot of the mountain…
The younger brother entered the dimly lit room, carrying firewood, and rekindled the dying embers in the hearth.
As the fire crackled to life, he scooped some water and walked over to his brother, who was still lying motionless on the bed.
“Brother, have some water.” He said softly.
His brother opened his eyes with difficulty, his lips moving silently, his throat parched.
Water trickled down his chin as his younger brother helped him drink. His eyes finally regained some focus.
The younger brother saw him mouthing the words, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Brother. It’s that bitch’s fault.”
He clenched his fists tightly. “I believe in you. If it wasn’t for her interference, you would have succeeded.”
Tears welled up in the older brother’s eyes as he looked at his younger brother, his lips moving silently.
“Brother, you must be hungry. I’ll go to the village and see if I can find some food.”
As the younger brother was about to leave, he suddenly smelled a strange, enticing aroma.
It was a mouthwatering blend of roasted meat and spices, so strong that it seemed to be pulling him towards it.
He hesitated for a moment, then rushed outside.
“What… what are you doing?!”
Not far from their hut, a bonfire crackled merrily, skewers of meat sizzling over the flames.
Chen Yin, brushing oil and spices onto the meat, replied without looking up, “Sorry, this was the only open space we could find. Hope you don’t mind.”
Nan Xiaoxiang sat opposite him, her head lowered silently.
The skewers of meat, glistening with oil, sizzled and popped over the fire, their aroma filling the air.
The younger brother stared at the meat, his stomach rumbling, drool dripping from his lips.
But he restrained himself and returned to the hut.
His brother was whimpering softly, his lips forming the words, “Don’t go. It’s too late… it’s dangerous.”
“But you haven’t eaten anything all day, Brother, if you don’t—”
The older brother shook his head weakly.
“It’s… fine.”
The younger brother bit his lip, his inner conflict evident.
Finally, after a long struggle, he made up his mind.
Chen Yin, who was enjoying his barbecue, suddenly heard a hesitant voice.
“Excuse me… could you… could you spare some food?” The younger brother’s face was flushed as he stood before the bonfire.
Nan Xiaoxiang’s eyes widened in surprise, but Chen Yin said casually, “Oh? You want some too?”
“But we don’t have enough for ourselves. If we give it to you for free, what will we eat?”
Nan Xiaoxiang was about to protest when Chen Yin gave her a subtle look.
She fell silent and looked away.
The younger brother, his head lowered, said, “I-I can work for you! I can do laundry, chop wood, fetch water, anything! I’m very strong!”
Chen Yin looked at him with a smirk. “That’s it?”
The boy didn’t speak, his head still lowered.
His pride seemed to be burning along with the bonfire.
“Well, I don’t really need anyone to do my laundry or chop wood,”
Chen Yin said with a sigh, “but doing good deeds is always a virtue.”
“You look so skinny and pitiful, I’ll give you a few skewers.”
“What can I say? I’m just too kind.”
He casually tossed a few skewers onto the ground,
…as if he was throwing scraps to a stray dog.
Nan Xiaoxiang frowned, but she still didn’t speak.
She didn’t think Chen Yin would do such a thing.
The younger brother looked at the skewers, covered in dirt and ashes, took a deep breath, knelt down, and kowtowed gratefully, then quickly picked them up and ran back to the hut.
“Brother! I got some food!”
After he left, Nan Xiaoxiang finally spoke.
“Young Master Chen, why did you humiliate him like that? He just wanted some food—”
“…Someone has to play the bad cop.”
Chen Yin continued grilling the meat, his expression unchanged.
“If kindness is given too easily, people take it for granted.”
“If you had simply given him the food, he would have seen you as a pushover. Even if you gave him more, he wouldn’t be grateful.”
“In his mind, you would still be the wicked woman who prevented his brother from achieving immortality.”
Nan Xiaoxiang frowned. She was about to say that she didn’t need their gratitude when Chen Yin interrupted her.
“Gratitude might not be important to you.”
“But you should understand. The most difficult illness to cure is the one of the heart.”
Chen Yin’s gaze was calm. “If you truly want to save him, it’s not enough to just keep him alive.”
“…You have to give him a reason to live.”
Nan Xiaoxiang froze, her eyes widening slightly.
“These are done. Eat while they’re hot.” Chen Yin handed her a few skewers.
She didn’t take them, just stared at him, her eyes filled with a strange light.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Chen Yin chuckled and scratched his cheek. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for me.”
“…You would be much more respectable in my eyes if you didn’t say such things, Young Master Chen.”
“Tch, you don’t know how to appreciate a good man. There are countless women out there who would kill for my attention.”
“Fine, if you don’t want them, you can figure out what to do with them yourself.”
He stood up. “I’m done grilling. It would be a waste to let them go to waste.”
“Do as you please.”
With that, he extinguished the bonfire and strolled back to his room, his hands clasped behind his back, like an old man taking an evening walk.
Nan Xiaoxiang looked at the skewers on the grill, their aroma still tempting, and fell into deep thought.
After a long while, she finally understood what he meant.
…Someone had to play the bad cop.
And someone had to play the good cop.
He had deliberately given her the opportunity to be the good guy.
Looking at the skewers, Nan Xiaoxiang’s heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions.
But in the end, she picked them up
And walked towards the brothers’ hut.
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