Disease rights policy

Although Chen Jiu's tone was calm, the unspoken blame and questioning beneath his calm words weighed heavily on Qiao Ran. Qiao Ran was unable to refute him for a moment. The elegance and nobility that Chen Jiu exuded, even with his illness, was an inherent grace that was beyond reproach.

"I'm not blaming you, but I beg you, Miss Qiao, please don't try to take advantage of my sister for something as inanimate as 'Spring and Autumn Annals' anymore, okay?"

Qiao Ran nodded obediently, as if under a spell, "I understand."

Suddenly, Chen Jiu reached out and gently touched Qiao Ran's head. Qiao Ran was shocked. What was he doing?

Her eyes widened like copper bells, but Chen Jiu remained composed, withdrawing his hand and saying, "I understand the principle of 'possessing a treasure is a crime.' I can tell that you, Miss Qiao, are not a truly wicked person. Your desire for 'Spring and Autumn Annals' is merely a passing fancy, but obtaining it will only bring you countless dangers. This is a lesson learned. Do you still want 'Spring and Autumn Annals' now?"

Qiao Ran thought for a moment and nodded, "Yes."

Chen Jiu asked doubtfully, "Why would you want this? Is it more important than your life?"

“It’s as important as my life,” Qiao Ran replied without hesitation. It was her life that brought her here, how could she not give it up?

Chen Jiu was even more puzzled, "Is Miss Qiao really that short of money?"

Qiao Ran shrugged and denied it, "I don't lack it. I can easily grab a handful of money, how could I lack it?"

Chen Jiu: "..."

This is the first time I've seen someone talk about stealing in such a grand and respectable way, without any sense of shame.

He pressed on relentlessly, "Then why do you insist on using the term 'Spring and Autumn Annals'?"

Qiao Ran casually made up a story, "I just wanted to take a look, out of curiosity."

“…You really are,” Chen Jiu coughed lightly, covering his mouth, and shook his head inwardly, “I can show you, but I can’t give it to you yet.”

Upon hearing that she could watch it, Qiao Ran's eyes lit up immediately, and she asked with a mischievous excitement, "Really?"

Chen Jiu said, "Yes, really."

Chen Jiu said he could show Qiao Ran the 'Spring and Autumn Annals', and Qiao Ran immediately focused all her attention on it, while trying to control her expression so that Chen Jiu wouldn't realize she wanted to take it.

Chen Jiu stood up as he spoke, "Come with me."

A fleeting look of joy crossed Qiao Ran's face, and she quickly followed up, "Young Master Chen, you mean 'Spring and Autumn Annals' is with you?"

Since she wasn't in Kyoto, but in a villa in Sichuan, why did she go to all that trouble?

“He’s always been here with me,” Chen Jiu said, walking straight into the inner bedroom. His back was long and slender, and Qiao Ran couldn’t help but think that the man’s bones must be exceptionally handsome under his wide robes.

When Qiao Ran came to her senses, she had already followed Chen Jiu into the inner bedroom. She thought that a treasure like the 'Spring and Autumn Annals' should indeed be placed in a safe and hidden place, and the bedroom was the most suitable place. She was just waiting for Chen Jiu to retrieve it. However, Chen Jiu took off his heavy outer robe in front of her and reached out to untie the belt around his waist. His slender fingers exuded an indescribable charm.

Qiao Ran thought of something indecent and cursed him inwardly as a pervert. She cleared her throat and asked in a seemingly calm manner, "Why are you taking off your clothes?"

Chen Jiu stopped undressing and looked at Qiao Ran with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Miss Qiao, didn't you want to see 'Spring and Autumn Annals'? Jin Zhou carries it with him at all times. You can only see it if you take off your clothes."

He spoke with such seriousness that Qiao Ran was taken aback. She couldn't help but recall the legend and asked in astonishment, "Because of your illness?"

Chen Jiu nodded slightly. "Yes, I have been weak and sickly since childhood. My family secretly invited experts to save my life, but I still hovered on the brink of death time and time again. Even the Bodhisattva predicted that I would not live past the age of twenty-eight."

Qiao Ran's throat was dry, and she said in a hoarse voice, "The talk of ghosts and gods is not to be believed. Aren't you fine now? The environment in the villa is so nice. You just need to rest and you will get better."

Chen Jiu smiled gently, sat down by the bed, and said slowly, "Miss Qiao, I am twenty-three years old this year."

Qiao Ran fell silent.

“When I was ten years old, I fell seriously ill and my heart almost stopped beating. A coffin was placed in the house.” Recalling the past, Chen Jiu did not feel much sadness. He was calm as if he were telling someone else’s tragic story. “Perhaps it was God’s mercy. My father found the ‘Spring and Autumn’ jade that he had been searching for for ten years before I was put in the coffin. The doctor embedded the Spring and Autumn jade in my heart. The remaining spirit of ‘Spring and Autumn’ saved my life. To this day, it has never left my body.”

It took Qiao Ran a full quarter of an hour to process Chen Jiu's words, going over them in her mind before staring at Chen Jiu's chest in disbelief and saying, "'Spring and Autumn' is embedded in your body? This..."

How can it be?

It's no wonder Qiao Ran was shocked. She came from the future, and her thinking was thousands of years more advanced than this era. Although she was not a doctor, she understood that Chen Jiu's illness was something he was born with, a disease of a mortal body. If it couldn't be cured, it couldn't be cured. How could she possibly have a piece of jade with a mysterious reputation embedded in his body to prolong his life?

Will I really lose my life because of this?

...Looking at Chen Jiu, it seemed as if he had truly come back to life. Qiao Ran's throat tightened as she stared intently at Chen Jiu.

Chen Jiu was only wearing a thin undergarment. He calmly and slowly unbuttoned it, looked up at the shocked Qiao Ran, and said, "Miss Qiao, please take a look."

Qiao Ran covered her mouth; she had seen it, and Chen Jiu's words were true.

Chen Jiu's body was very pale, with an unusual pallor. Beneath his well-defined bones, the texture of his skin was clearly visible. The 'Spring and Autumn Annals' that had brought Qiao Ran from the future was embedded two inches from his chest in an extremely dazzling manner. The shimmering light scattered across the jade, which was about three fingers wide. The edges of the jade were a warm white like white fat. Qiao Ran was stunned for a moment. The jade did not look out of place on Chen Jiu's slightly thin body at all, as if the man and the jade were meant to be one.

However, this 'Spring and Autumn Annals' is not quite the same as what she saw in later generations.

Qiao Ran was so engrossed in watching that she unconsciously blurted out what was on her mind. Chen Jiu asked, "What, Miss Qiao, have you seen 'Spring and Autumn' before?"

Qiao Ran suddenly came to her senses and realized that she had lost her composure. She quickly said, "I have seen the counterfeit elsewhere."

Chen Jiu smiled gently, and before fully dressing, she thoughtfully asked, "Are you still going to watch?"

Qiao Ran looked slightly embarrassed, looked away, shook her head and waited for Chen Jiu to get dressed again. She thought to herself that it was a good thing that the jade was embedded in the body of a celestial being like Chen Jiu. If it were on the chest of that rough man, she would probably have been unable to resist prying it off and then complaining, "What a waste of a precious gem."

However, she was certain that the 'Spring and Autumn Annals' she had seen in later generations did not contain even a trace of rosy light.

"Young Master Chen, is it really because of the 'Spring and Autumn Period' that you have survived to this day?"

Chen Jiu was usually dressed by servants, and after all that work, he was exhausted. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Although your question isn't very pleasant, it's true. Jinzhou is only alive today thanks to it."

Qiao Ran smiled sheepishly, "Then it seems the rumors are true, the 'Spring and Autumn Annals' is indeed an ancient divine artifact."

“It is both a divine object and an inanimate object. In the first few years, I did feel that my spirits were very good, but day by day I gradually became unable to keep up,” Chen Jiu said in a low voice, his eyes filled with gloom. “You must have seen it clearly just now. ‘Spring and Autumn’ was originally wrapped in flowing light and colorful clouds. In the past two years, the colorful clouds have gradually faded, and my body has also deteriorated. When I turn twenty-eight, it will be the day when ‘Spring and Autumn’ and I lose our vitality.”

"Young Master Chen, don't be discouraged. Perhaps your peaceful survival to this day is not due to the effects of this 'Spring and Autumn,' but rather to your good health. Who told you that your lifespan would definitely end at twenty-eight? You can't believe such things completely." Qiao Ran couldn't imagine how agonizing it would be for someone to live each day counting down to the end of their life.

Chen Jiu felt a warmth in his heart and sighed, "It's fate, it's time. I know my own body. Twenty-eight years old is at least a limit, which can bring some comfort to my family. I'm afraid I won't live to see my birthday that year, and my family will inevitably be desolate."

Overwhelmed with sympathy, Qiao Ran looked at Chen Jiu with even more sorrow.