Transformed into a heartthrob's simp, every day is a battleground.

Chapter 366 Extinction of Offspring

Upon hearing Yan Xun's words, Gao Ruiyun immediately showed a touched expression—tears were almost welling up in her eyes. She then pinched her sleeve and wiped away the tears that had been squeezed out. "It's alright."

He looked at Yan Xun and said, "I knew you cared about me."

"You have me in your heart."

"..." Yan Xun was silent for three seconds. "Why do you say that?"

Master Gao asked in surprise, "If you didn't care about me, would you be so worried about my health?"

He looked at Yan Xun, his eyes still wet with tears, and it was hard to tell whether he was acting or genuinely moved. "I can tell whether it's true or false affection..." he said, taking Yan Xun's hand and leading him into the courtyard.

Yan Xun turned to the side, avoiding his attempt to hold her hand.

Gao Ruiyun was a little stunned. He glanced at Yan Xun, then stammered, "...Are you shy...?"

He glanced at the butler not far away, "He won't say anything."

"Can you tell the difference between genuine feelings and feigned ones?" Yan Xun looked at Master Gao. "Do you think the people in your courtyard are all being insincere towards you?"

Gao Ruiyun was about to say something when he started coughing violently again—making Yan Xun think that this person was probably acting. Whenever there was a question he didn't want to answer, or something he wanted to evade, he would act like he was about to die.

Master Gao was coughing badly, so Yan Xun reached out and patted his back to help him catch his breath.

Master Gao was coughing painfully, but he was also touched that Yan Xun cared about him, which resulted in a very interesting expression on his face.

Once he had finally caught his breath, he said to Yan Xun, "Thank you for your hard work."

“It’s not hard work,” Yan Xun said. “When my uncle coughs, I often pat his back like this.”

He smiled at Gao Ruiyun, "When I was patting the old man's back just now, I thought of my uncle again, which made me feel very close to him."

Gao Ruiyun was taken aback. "...You mean you think I look like your uncle?"

Yan Xun smiled innocently, "Yes, you should be about the same age as my uncle, right?"

“When I patted your back just now, I felt as close to you as if you were my uncle.” He said, patting Gao Ruiyun’s back a few more times with concern. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

"Do you think everyone in the courtyard is being insincere towards you?"

He looked at Gao Ruiyun and asked, "If that's the case, why did you bring them back to the Gao family?"

Perhaps because of the dim candlelight, Gao Ruiyun looked even worse, not like a living patriarch of the Gao family, but more like a vengeful ghost who had been dead for many years.

“They all wish I would die soon so they could get a share of the Gao family’s wealth,” Gao Ruiyun said resentfully. “You’re different.”

Yan Xun: "..."

He was genuinely puzzled now.

Why does Gao Ruiyun feel different and not want to inherit his estate after his death?

But he also knew that he wouldn't get any more information from Gao Ruiyun here, so he could only tell him, "It's windy here, let's go inside first."

……

Gao Ruiyun's courtyard was undoubtedly the most luxurious place in the entire Gao family.

Strangely, there weren't many servants in the courtyard.

Upon entering Gao Ruiyun's room, the fragrance that had been making him dizzy became even more pronounced. The floor was covered with a thick carpet, and stepping on it made no sound.

Dressed in all white, Mr. Gao slowly returned to the house like a vengeful ghost.

Yan Xun looked around Master Gao's room, trying to find the offerings that the man had hidden inside.

But after looking around, he still couldn't find anything suspicious... Instead, Master Gao started coughing again on the soft couch. He covered his mouth and coughed violently, and soon coughed up some blood and flesh.

Yan Xun: "..."

Master Gao seemed quite used to this. Under Yan Xun's surprised gaze, he just smiled weakly and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief. His clothes were naturally also damaged. The strong incense in the air could not hide the bloody smell on Master Gao's body, as well as the smell of rotting from the inside out.

Yan Xun knew that Master Gao wouldn't live much longer.

Of course, this is something they found out after entering the instance.

He just hadn't expected that Master Gao's health was even worse than he had thought.

Master Gao, however, waved to Yan Xun, gesturing for him to sit down next to him, seemingly unconcerned.

Seeing that Yan Xun didn't move, he just looked down at the dirt on his body, "...It is indeed quite dirty..."

As he spoke, he took off his white robe in front of Yan Xun and asked Yan Xun to get him a new set of clothes.

Yan Xun was just thinking of finding out where Gao Ruiyun lived, so he followed the instructions of Master Gao and went behind a screen to fetch him new clothes.

Without exception, all of these clothes had a strong scent of incense, as if they were trying to cover up some terrible smell.

According to the description in the copy, Master Gao became wealthy because he worshipped something extraordinary.

On the day of the wedding ceremony, Li Wu said that the thing was hidden in Master Gao's room... but Yan Xun searched for a long time and couldn't find anything suspicious.

Is it because the object that Master Gao worships is the same one in the ancestral hall—only that the object has been moved to a different place and they don't know it—or is it because Master Gao has hidden it very well?

Many thoughts flashed through Yan Xun's mind, and he hesitated whether to waste his time on this problem.

Perhaps because he was taking too long to get the clothes, Gao Ruiyun started urging him from outside.

Yan Xun could only agree and take the new clothes out.

Then he saw that Master Gao was only wearing his undergarments. Anyone who saw Gao Ruiyun wearing only his undergarments would know one thing—this man was not going to live much longer.

His skin was almost glued to his bones, and his whole body looked like a moving skeleton.

Perhaps not expecting Yan Xun to suddenly come out, Gao Ruiyun subconsciously pulled over a blanket from the side and covered herself.

Yan Xun: "..."

What's with this strange sense of déjà vu?

Perhaps realizing that Yan Xun had already seen her skeletal, emaciated body, Gao Ruiyun put down the blanket in her hand. "You saw everything?"

“…I saw it,” Yan Xun said.

He walked over and handed the clothes to Gao Ruiyun.

Gao Ruiyun took it, saying, "You know I don't have long to live."

He already knew about this, Yan Xun thought.

He looked at Gao Ruiyun's face—unlike the other's emaciated body, which was no different from a skeleton, the other's face was relatively normal. At least one could vaguely tell that if the other's body were still in good condition, he would probably be a handsome man, just a little gloomy.

Gao Ruiyun was also somewhat resigned to her fate and gave up on herself. "You must think I look scary and ugly right now."

"It's alright," Yan Xun said.

He thought for a moment and then said, "Since you studied abroad, the Gao family must have consulted many doctors. Could it be that none of them could cure your illness?"

Gao Ruiyun looked at Yan Xun with a somber expression, "It can't be cured."

"Ok?"

“This disease is incurable,” Gao Ruiyun said. “The health of every member of the Gao family will only get worse than that of the previous generation.”

"Until the Gao family line ends in extinction."