Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 69: “What Kind Of Illness Is ‘Being Crazy’ (Shenjingbing)?”

 

　　“Xia Yan's situation is just too tragic…” 

　　Under the lush, dense tree, a girl in a red dress sat on a tree root, hugging her knees. She rested her pointed chin on them, biting her lip and murmuring to herself. 

　　“System, what else has Pei Ji done?” 

　　【He hasn’t done anything yet; he’ll be out soon.】 

　　An Jiu felt a flicker of surprise, but it also felt somewhat expected. Although she had run out with Fei Chen, she hadn't actually gone looking for him; she was just pretending. 

　　After escaping the grand hall, she found a hidden spot and asked the system to monitor the situation inside. In the story, Pei Ji was supposed to confront Master Zhenyi at this moment, but to An Jiu’s surprise, Pei Ji didn’t take action against Master Zhenyi. Instead, Master Zhenyi told Pei Ji a story. 

　　The experiences of Pei Ji’s parents weren't written in the book; this was the first time An Jiu had heard of them. 

　　“It's just too tragic, too tragic! Hua Mei has caused so much harm!” An Jiu sighed, feeling a wave of sympathy. 

　　From this, it became clear that Pei Ji likely had never experienced familial love. His mother had gone mad after his birth, and Pei Zhou… probably harbored deep resentment towards this child. 

　　This helped explain why Pei Ji had developed his current personality. Having never felt warmth as a child, it was only natural that he struggled to develop a healthy personality as he grew up.

　　Children raised in love don't lack love; children raised in hatred don't lack hatred. But even hateful people have their pitiful aspects; the ancients didn't lie. 

　　An Jiu, remembering that Pei Ji hadn't followed the original plot, felt a fresh wave of anxiety. 

　　“If Pei Ji doesn’t kill Master Zhenyi, how will he get the Bodhi seed? Wasn’t it always kept by Master Zhenyi himself?” 

　　【The system does not know.】 

　　“Useless system, I didn’t ask you that.” (T/N: Agreed! So useless.🙄)

　　Besides reporting favorability, the system wasn't very useful. The remote monitoring function was recently developed by An Jiu, and it can only track Pei Ji’s movements within a limited range—hardly effective.

　　It’s basically just a mascot system. 

　　【Host, please mind your language. And, the target, Pei Ji's favorability towards you has reached 62.】 

　　“Huh?!?” A string of question marks popped up above An Jiu's head. 

　　She checked the system's backend and discovered that all the way from Jinshe Town to Wuyin Temple, Pei Ji had been steadily giving her a stream of favorability points: +1 or -2, then +2 or -1, and so on. 

　　Previously, An Jiu had found the constant favorability updates annoying, so she had disabled notifications for increases and decreases of less than 5 points, causing her to completely miss the recent increase. Seeing the long list of favorability updates, An Jiu couldn't help but gasp.

　　It seemed he’d been quite stimulated these past few days; his inner turmoil was intense. 

　　Just then, the sound of rolling wheels came from the entrance of the nearby hall. An Jiu, unable to think further, quickly jumped up, adjusted her dress, and calmly walked towards the sound. 

　　She soon encountered Pei Ji. The man, in white clothes and black hair, had a calm and peaceful expression. His gaze, as always, was gentle and soft. However, Ah Qi, who was pushing his wheelchair, looked unwell, burdened by something. 

　　Noticing An Jiu's inquiring gaze, Pei Ji silently looked up and asked with a smile, “Miss An, what is it?” 

　　An Jiu quickly composed herself and said casually, “Nothing, I just wanted to ask about your diagnosis of Master Zhenyi.” 

　　Pei Ji said calmly, “Is that so? Miss An is very interested in this? As far as I know, you and Master Zhenyi are strangers.” 

　　The girl in red bit her lip and stammered, “Y-you, you don’t need to worry about me, I just… Fei Chen is very concerned about his master, so I’m just helping to ask.” 

　　“I see.” 

　　Pei Ji’s expression remained unchanged, but his dark eyes fixed on her, the curve of his lips offering no warmth. He slowly stroked his jade folding fan, saying word by word, “Then Miss An can tell him. Master Zhenyi’s time is near; he’ll pass away soon. I wonder how Fei Chen will feel?” 

　　His expression remained unchanged, still smiling. However, in his dark eyes, a faint maliciousness lingered, as if he were watching a good show, intensely focused on the girl’s beautiful face.

　　Hearing this, the girl's delicate pink cheeks turned pale, and her expression became flustered. 

　　“Y-you, Pei Ji, what are you talking about! What do you mean, his time is near? You must be lying!” She took two steps back, her voice shrill and trembling. 

　　“Let’s say I am lying, Miss An. Are you still going to tell him?”

Seeing her pale face and the fear in her eyes, Pei Ji felt an unusual sense of exhilaration. The frustration that had been building up over the past few days seemed to melt away. He wanted her beautiful eyes fixed on him—and only him. 

　　“Miss An, go tell him,” the man in white smiled, his appearance harmless, yet his words carried a deep, chilling malice. 

　　“Y-you’re crazy! (¹Shenjingbing)”

The girl in red bit her lip, hesitated for a moment, then stomped her foot and quickly ran off. She didn’t head in Fei Chen’s direction.

　　Seeing this, the smile on the man’s refined face deepened. He half-closed his eyes with a hint of pleasure and asked Ah Qi behind him,

　　“What does crazy mean?” 

　　Ah Qi shook his head. “If even you, young master, don't know, how could I?” 

　　He slowly pushed Pei Ji back, asking hesitantly, “Young master… what Master Zhenyi said… was it true?” 

　　Pei Ji said calmly, “Naturally, it’s true.” 

　　Ah Qi had always known his young master was poisoned, but he didn’t know what kind of poison it was, nor would his young master tell him. Since his young master seemed fine all this time, he hadn’t worried. But now, learning that the poison could kill his young master, he couldn't remain calm.

　　“Young master, is the poison truly incurable?” Ah Qi asked, his face full of worry. 

　　Pei Ji chuckled softly, “Didn’t you hear? There’s the Twin-soul Gu that can cure it.” 

　　Ah Qi nodded, seeing his young master’s calm demeanor. His eyes lit up. “Has the young master already found the Twin-soul Gu?” 

　　Pei Ji said, “Not yet, but soon.” 

　　According to his calculations, it had been almost a month since Wu Sheng left. If all went well, his message should arrive soon. 

　　As if his words were a prophecy, that night, Pei Ji received a letter from Wu Sheng. A cat-faced owl delivered the letter. When Pei Ji first saw the owl on the windowsill, his heart skipped a beat. He instinctively thought it was a letter from An Jiu. But it was from Wu Sheng. 

　　Wu Sheng wrote that he had arrived in Southern Xinjiang a fortnight ago and had spent the past two weeks searching for the person who had created the Twin-soul Gu. However, nearly twenty years had passed, and the person was dead; almost no one knew how to create the Twin-soul Gu anymore. 

　　To save his life, Wu Sheng promised in the letter that he had recently found the descendant of that master and asked for two more months to obtain the Twin-soul Gu. 

　　Two months. He could wait. 

　　Pei Ji took two antidote pills from his medicine box and put them in the letter tube. This was his reply. Two months. He hoped Wu Sheng wouldn't disappoint him.

　　Ah Qi was watching all this and asked, “Young master, now that the Twin-soul Gu has been located, should I go find a suitable woman for you?” 

　　Pei Ji paused for a moment before replying, “No need.”

　　Ah Qi was stunned, then became anxious. “Why? You’re eighteen. There are few unmarried women at eighteen. Most women become mothers at sixteen or seventeen. What if we can't find someone to help with the antidote?” 

　　Pei Ji was silent for a moment before slowly saying, “I’ve already found someone.” 

　　Ah Qi’s face lit up with surprise. “You found someone?” 

　　Seeing Ah Qi’s genuine happiness, Pei Ji hesitated whether to tell him. Having lived through his past life, Pei Ji knew better than anyone how loyal Ah Qi was. 

　　In his last life, everyone called him a demon, but only Ah Qi had stayed by his side, protecting him from his enemies when he lost consciousness from the poison. If anyone truly cared for him, it was Ah Qi. 

　　Thinking this, Pei Ji no longer hesitated and said concisely, “It’s An Jiu.” 

　　Ah Qi was completely stunned. After a while, he realized, “So it’s her… No wonder young master treated her differently. I thought…” 

　　“Thought what?” Pei Ji’s dark eyes looked at him calmly. 

　　Ah Qi was startled, scratched his head, and laughed awkwardly, “Nothing. Young master, do whatever you want. If there’s anything, Ah Qi will bear it for you. If I can’t bear it, I’ll die with you.” 

　　It was a pity about Miss An… Ah Qi actually liked her quite a bit. But in order to keep the young master alive, he has no choice but to let her down. Ah Qi lowered his head, a look of determination in his eyes. 

　　Pei Ji, however, couldn't help but recall that day when he heard those words.

　　He remembered a girl who had once said similar words to him. If she knew she would die at his hands, would she still have saved him from the mud, would she still have said those words? Even without asking, Pei Ji knew the answer was no. 

　　In this world, besides Ah Qi, no one would willingly sacrifice their life for him. He was a child unloved even by his parents. How could he expect anyone to love him wholeheartedly, to the point of giving their life for him? 

　　These thoughts flashed through his mind and quickly dissipated without a trace. 

　　Pei Ji said to Ah Qi, “Ah Qi, notify the Qiānshā Pavilion. There’s a new mission.” 

　　“What mission?” 

　　“Attack Wuyin Temple and steal the Bodhi seed.” His expression was calm, his voice devoid of emotion. 

　　At that moment, a flapping sound came from outside the window. Another owl landed on the windowsill. Its feathers were puffed up, like a round ball. It tilted its head, blinked its round amber eyes, and cooed twice at Pei Ji. 

　　The calm expression on the man in white froze, like a deflated balloon, and the heavy atmosphere in the room suddenly dissipated.

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GLOSSARY:

¹ “神经病 (shénjīngbìng)”: This phrase literally means “nerve illness,” but in modern Mandarin, it’s a common slang term used to call someone crazy or irrational—kind of like saying “Are you nuts?” or “What’s wrong with you?” in English. The tone can range from sarcastic to concerned, depending on the context. 

That said, ancient people wouldn’t know this term, because it's a modern language and slang term.

In ancient Chinese settings (like in xianxia, wuxia, or historical novels), mental illness was described differently. Instead of “shenjingbing,” they might say things like:

癲狂 (diānkuáng) – madness/insanity

走火入魔 (zǒuhuǒ rùmó) – cultivation deviation causing mental instability

失心疯 (shīxīnfēng) – a kind of emotional madness

心智失常 (xīnzhì shīcháng) – unsound mind

So dropping “神经病” into ancient dialogue is kind of like someone in a Tang Dynasty drama suddenly saying they have “ADHD” or a “panic attack”—it feels anachronistic and out of place.

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