Soaking himself in the public bath on an extremely cold winter day, followed by steaming himself in the sauna, was especially invigorating.
When Ren Baqian was in university, a roommate from the south went into the public bath and saw him butt-naked. He got so afraid that he almost ran away, causing Ren Baqian to tease him for a long time.
Ren Baqian sat in the wooden tub with the water up to his neck. The smell of herbal medicine emanated from within.
He was unsure why he was reminded of that roommate of his who came from the south.
It is said that one is getting old when he or she begins to recall the past.
Ren Baqian was deep in thought.
He estimated that the person who said this had never experienced youth. He was only 24… 25… 26 years old? How old was he now?
It was already 2019 on Earth. Furthermore, more than half the year had past. It seemed like he was 26 years old now?
According to what he experienced, he should only be 25 years old. Regardless of whether he was 25 or 26 years old, he was still in his prime, as delicate as a flower, and as refined as a precious jade.
The people in the ancient times always talked about sweet 16, which was also the best time of one's teenage years.
He had yet to reach 28 years old, and it was senseless for him to think of such an issue.
Once again, Ren Baqian soaked in the tub for a little while. He then got out of the tub when he felt that it was almost time. The water was getting a little cold, and the medicinal herbs should probably have already been absorbed into his body.
First, he stood there bare-bottomed and looked downward with his head lowered. He shivered a little before reaching for a towel to dry himself off and putting on his clothes.
Eh? There was a large, thick wooden pillar moving in the courtyard.
A large, thick wooden pillar was swaying outside of the courtyard as if it had a life on its own.
"Who's that?" Ren Baqian was able to spot the wooden pillar, and naturally, so did the imperial guards. The two guards immediately jumped up the walls of the courtyard.
"My humble self would like to seek an audience with Sir Ren!" There was a voice coming from the other side of the wall and it seemed kind of familiar. It sounded somewhat like a man with a hint of a woman's voice.
In fact, when Ren Baqian saw that swaying wooden pillar, Ren Baqian already knew who was outside. He didn't expect that the other party wanted to seek an audience with him.
It just so happened that he was interested in finding out more about the other party too.
"Allow him to enter," Ren Baqian said as he got dressed.
After Ren Baqian finished speaking, the two imperial guards looked at the person behind the wall as they stroked their chins. They glared at that person like a tiger watching its prey.
After that, a person carrying a wooden pillar on her head jumped over the wall and landed in the courtyard.
"Sir Ren." That person cupped her hands from a distance away. "It's been a long time since we last met."
Ren Baqian looked at the other party's appearance. She was wearing a purple robe, her hair was scattered over her shoulders, and her eyes were bloodshot. It looked as if she had applied eyeshadow. She could only be considered average looking. Most importantly, the charm of her eyebrows was not something that an average person had.
After listening to what that person had to say, all the imperial guards scanned Ren Baqian with their eyes and were ready for gossip.
Did one of Ren Baqian's women come knocking on his door? Never would they have expected that Sir Ren had such a past… They wondered if they should inform Her Majesty or not…
Honestly speaking, Ren Baqian treated them really well. The truth, however, would come to light sooner or later.
Ren Baqian was speechless.
He felt that a basin of feces had just fallen from the sky and hit him.
Ren Baqian felt that he didn't know who this woman was, but he indescribably felt that she was somewhat familiar, especially her eyebrows and her eyes.
"Have we met before? Are you related to Ning Caichen?" Ren Baqian was a little puzzled.
This woman gave him a feeling similar to Ning Caichen.
Did Ning Caichen have a sister? Yet, he hadn't met her before, right?
"It's me! Sir Ren would have never expected it, right?!" The other party looked at Ren Baqian seductively.
Plop! Ren Baqian saw the other party's movements and got goosebumps all over his body.
"You are Ning Caichen?" Ren Baqian was loss for words. He hadn't seen Ning Caichen for a few months and he actually changed his gender?
Although he knew that the medical expertise in this world was relatively developed, he had never imagined that it could actually reach this level. They could even perform such a surgery?
"This is why I have came to look for Sir Ren…" Ning Caichen said as he pressed his fingers into an orchid shape.
"Although I am ashamed to meet people now, I still consider Sir Ren an old friend. Please help me out." Ning Caichen was making suggestive eye contact with Ren Baqian as he spoke.
"What happened? Finally realized your childhood dream?" Ren Baqian instructed someone to bring two stools in and placed them three meters apart.
Ning Caichen's current appearance made him felt weirded out.
"If Sir Ren wants to tease me…" Ning Caichen was distressed. "It's a long story…"
Ning Caichen sat on the chair and that wooden pillar actually didn't move a single bit.
His tone and expression was extremely seductive, which made him even more feminine than a woman.
"Summarize everything!" When Ren Baqian noticed that Ning Caichen was about to give a lengthy explanation, he immediately put a stop to it.
The fact that Ning Caichen loved to brag was etched in Ren Baqian's memory. Even if he ignored him, Ning Caichen would still continue to talk endlessly without getting to the point for a long time.
If Ren Baqian allowed him to speak freely, he reckoned that it would last past midnight.
In that case, they would really be having a candlelight evening talk.
Afterward, because of Ning Caichen's current appearance, Ren Baqian's head would be hung at the top of the city wall.
Ning Caichen's face look as if he didn't want to talk about what had happened. After pondering for a long time, he began to sort out where he should start speaking from.
Upon seeing his current expression, Ren Baqian straightforwardly asked, "Did you choose to look like this?"
"Absolutely not." Ning Caichen immediately shook his head. Why would he want to look neither like a man nor a woman.
"I see that you are rather happy with the current situation," said Ren Baqian, who couldn't help but say this.
Ning Caichen immediately gave Ren Baqian a death stare and replied, "I have already become like this, and you still want to tease me? In any case, I'm still an old friend of yours. Back then, we even spent the night in the wilderness."
As he spoke, his fingers were pressed together into an orchid shape while his tone was flirtatious.
The imperial guards who surrounded them looked at Ren Baqian with the expression of a busybody. There were already a few of them who were prepared to rat on him.
Ren Baqian was speechless.
"At that time, we ran into wolves, alright? If it wasn't for me, you would have been eaten by them." Ren Baqian selectively ignored the fact that he had used a grenade to make Ning Caichen pass out.
"Many thanks for saving your servant's life. Do you want me to devote my life to you?" Ning Caichen continued to shoot flirtatious glances at Ren Baqian.
"No, no, if it wasn't for me, you would have been eaten by wolves. For this reason, my Green Pearl was seriously injured…" Just when Ning Caichen spoke this sentence, Ren Baqian put on a miserable look. Ning Caichen's voice became a bit coarser and was somewhat like his old voice.
However, he still didn't forget to press his thumb and middle finger together.
"These days, it has become more and more serious…" Ning Caichen was distressed.
Then, his voice sounded more neutral again as he said, "There is no point in talking so much about the past. After all, the friendship still exists. That's the reason why I came to see Sir Ren."
When he said this last sentence, his expression became loveable again and his voice sounded more neutral.
Soon after, he became distressed again, "Sir Ren, please help me out this once. I will be extremely grateful to you and will gift you with something valuable."
Ren Baqian looked at Ning Caichen in a confused manner. One moment he used the term "I," another moment he used the term "your servant," and the next moment he used "my humble self." Furthermore, his expression and voice changed with every sentence he spoke. Was he suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorderr?
Should I call you Ning Caichen number one, two, or three?