Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 128

“They say Wu Wu’s soul is unstable and his heart is attached to something, which causes this soul-separation condition. Even if left alone, he will return eventually,” Ning Qinghong explains. “But even if he does come back, there’s no guarantee this will not happen again.”

“To cure it thoroughly, you need to deepen the bonds here.” Ning Qinghong pauses, then kisses the boy’s brows and eyes, softly adding, “Change that attachment to something else.”

In simpler terms, even if Ning Qinghong does nothing, Wu Jing would eventually return after a year or so. When he returns, he might still experience soul-separation, uncontrollably slipping away for a few days before coming back. However, if Wu Jing stays away for a few days, it could mean that a year or more has passed here. 

It sounds not too serious, but the reality is terrifying. If Wu Jing spends two or three years away, when he returns, he would face a body that’s already aging and nearly at its end.

This needs immediate treatment.

After each incident, once Wu Jing’s feverish brain clears up a bit, he cries uncontrollably, feeling humiliated by his actions and the uncontrollable body that leaks constantly at the slightest provocation. 

He is overwhelmed with embarrassment, tears staining his eyes and making them swollen. He hides in Ning Qinghong’s embrace, unable to control his body, trembling and gasping.

He cries and whimpers, switching between intense sobbing and subdued whimpering. Ning Qinghong speaks softly, “Wu Wu, remember more of me, and you won’t think of so many things.”

He wants Wu Jing to only recognize him.

Wu Jing, feeling weak all over, nestles in Ning Qinghong’s arms. Upon hearing “Brother,” he instinctively responds, “…Brother.”

Ning Qinghong answers softly and asks, “Why aren’t you speaking?” He continues gently, “Do you still want to be entangled and unable to go anywhere?”

Wu Jing shakes his head in a panic, his words becoming disjointed and unclear. He instinctively reaches out to touch Ning Qinghong’s hand, a habit he’s formed. “…No, it’s not that.”

He gasps heavily, “It’s just… I can’t… speak.”

His words are broken and incoherent, lacking logical structure.

“It’s just… I didn’t speak.”

“If you don’t believe, Brother…”

Wu Jing, with a flushed face, buries himself in Ning Qinghong’s shoulder, speaking obediently and honestly, still grasping Ning Qinghong’s hand, his tears falling. He looks dazed and is not fully aware of what he is saying. “I want to go out, I don’t want… I don’t want it like this.”

He repeats himself, mumbling to himself.

“Listening to Brother.”

“Whimper… Brother, I’ll go out with you. I don’t want to go out, I don’t want to…”

“I like Brother, give Brother a kiss…”

“Hold Brother, hold me…”

His speech is unclear, but Ning Qinghong hears every word. He sighs lightly and kisses Wu Jing’s ear and neck, asking, “Wu Wu wants to go out?”

Wu Jing whimpers again, taking a deep breath. He lets go of Ning Qinghong’s hand with a soft “thud,” still mumbling, “I want…”

“Brother is sick, hasn’t gone out, it will get worse. I’m worried about Brother…” He cries, speaking in broken sentences, nearly out of breath. “I don’t want Brother to be sick, and…”

“Wu Wu is worried about Brother, is Brother’s little… little…” He stumbles over his words, trailing off, “Sorry.”

“I always dirty Brother’s clothes.”

Ning Qinghong kisses his lips, saying, “Wu Wu is so good.”

He sighs again and holds Wu Jing close, soothing him.

Wu Jing continues to cry loudly for a long time, not speaking, just holding onto Ning Qinghong and crying.

Ning Qinghong gently pats Wu Jing’s back, “How about we go to the dining hall tonight and eat something good?”

Wu Jing sobs and responds vaguely, “Will Brother carry me?”

Ning Qinghong smiles and replies warmly, “Of course I will accompany Wu Wu.”

Wu Jing doesn’t even realize it, but he uses all his strength to hold onto Ning Qinghong, looking up with tear-red eyes. “I want to… shower, change clothes?”

He waits for Ning Qinghong’s confirmation.

After Ning Qinghong agrees, Wu Jing doesn’t move, lying quietly in his arms, waiting to be carried.

He doesn’t even notice, just quietly sniffing.

After bathing and changing into matching white clothes, Wu Jing keeps his head down and follows closely behind Ning Qinghong, holding his hand and even gripping the sleeve.

Wu Jing doesn’t think about anything else, just dazedly leaning on Ning Qinghong.

He is so obedient it makes Ning Qinghong’s heart soften.

During meals, Wu Jing takes only a few bites, constantly looking at Ning Qinghong. At night, he anxiously curls up in his arms, only closing his eyes once securely held.

After two or three days, not being touched and only taking medicine, he starts to improve somewhat.

While drowsy and curled up in Ning Qinghong’s arms, he asks the still-reviewing Ning Qinghong, “…Brother?”

He rubbed his face against Ning Qinghong’s cheek and cautiously asked, “What time is it now?”

Ning Qinghong responded gently, “It’s almost Qingming Festival. Why?”

Wu Jing shook his head and snuggled closer, kissing Ning Qinghong’s thin lips before burying his face again. He quietly calculated in his mind.

It seemed that he had missed Ning Qinghong’s birthday.

He softly apologized in his heart.

Around midnight, shortly after Wu Jing fell asleep, he awoke in a daze, recalling the night. He instinctively wanted Ning Qinghong to accompany him, preferably holding him.

His mind instinctively pictured Ning Qinghong holding his legs.

Then he suddenly snapped back to reality.

Wu Jing felt like crying, his breath becoming damp and sticky. He couldn’t tell if it was due to extreme fatigue, the cold night, or just being uncomfortable.

He felt very distressed.

He wanted to endure it, but didn’t want to leave Ning Qinghong’s embrace.

After much mental preparation, he dared to clumsily get off the bed and shuffle to the small room he remembered, handle his needs, wash his hands, and then groggily return.

Before he could exit the small room, he bumped into someone at the door with a “thud.”

Wu Jing stared blankly, holding his head and looking up. In the dim candlelight, he saw Ning Qinghong’s gentle expression, though his eyes showed some fatigue from dealing with the backlog of official duties for the past three months.

He stared blankly, not even blinking.

He vaguely felt himself being lifted and heard Ning Qinghong’s soft voice, “Wu Wu, next time you get up at night, remember to wake me up, okay?”

Previously, when Wu Jing got up at night, Ning Qinghong rarely woke up from his quiet movements. Even if he did wake up partially, he wouldn’t get up to find him. He would just hold him again when he returned.

This was the first time.

Wu Jing asked, confused, “Is Brother afraid I’ll disappear again?”

Ning Qinghong smiled after a long pause and responded, kissing the corner of the boy’s eye, “Alright, go back to sleep.”

Wu Jing was placed back on the bed and felt the warm covers draped over him. He buried his face in Ning Qinghong’s embrace and, after a long time, said, “I’m sorry… I didn’t realize Brother’s birthday had passed and didn’t prepare a gift.”

“Happy birthday, Brother.”

“I wasn’t playing on the other side; I was thinking about how to help you. I asked many doctors and psychologists how to cure you.”

“I learned a lot, but didn’t get a chance to ask how to treat it here…”

“I didn’t know Brother was always waiting for me and worried about me…”

The boy’s words were incoherent,

and after a long while, Wu Jing asked softly, “How did Brother know I was missing and went to another place?”

He vaguely remembered that before waking up on the other side, he seemed to be attending classes at the Guozixue here, listening to the old teacher’s words, and dozing off, eventually falling asleep.

Ning Qinghong chuckled softly in the dark, “Brother can tell.”

“I could tell at a glance.”

Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day. It is a traditional Chinese festival observed to honor and remember ancestors by visiting and cleaning their graves, and making offerings to them. It usually falls on April 4th or 5th.