Chapter 281 – Princess of the Prairie Rules the World – Oblivious to Affection (06)
The young lambs had regained their health, and their lively appearance brought endless joy to Bai Tang.
He set the healthy lamb aside to graze, then turned to treat the other sick ones.
Young lambs had weak immunity, and this infection had mainly affected them.
By the time Bai Tang was treating the twelfth lamb, his vision suddenly went black, and he had to support himself on the ground with one hand.
“Are you okay?” asked a man nearby, concerned.
Bai Tang gave a faint smile, his face pale. “I’m fine, probably just crouched for too long.”
The man nodded. “If you’re not feeling well, go take a break. We’ve got things covered here.”
He was genuinely pleased with how dedicated Bai Tang was to caring for the flock—it meant the tribe was becoming more united. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but worry. The young man was far too thin and didn’t look very healthy. In this season, medicine wasn’t easy to come by.
Bai Tang thanked the man for his kindness and led the sick lamb away from the crowd.
The white healing light around him had dimmed considerably. Bai Tang’s head was spinning, and more than once he had trouble standing steadily, leaning his weight onto the little lamb for support.
“Sorry… I’m leaning on you again,” Bai Tang apologized.
The lamb bleated at him, its tone full of worry.
All things have spirit. Bai Tang’s original form had been a little squirrel, and animals shared a kind of intuition with each other. Besides, Bai Tang had always treated the lambs kindly, so they naturally sensed his intentions.
“Stop, Tang Tang! Your body still hasn’t fully fused with your soul. You’ll burn out at this rate,” Qiu’er, who had been inspecting the flock, sensed a fluctuation in her host’s energy. Qiu’er stopped what Qiu’er was doing and found that Bai Tang, ignoring his own condition, had nearly depleted the energy needed to fuse his body and soul.
“Almost there… just a little more~” Large beads of sweat rolled down the boy’s forehead. His smile was strained.
“Activating healing mode,” said Xiao A, immediately initiating the main system’s protection protocol upon seeing the situation.
The moment Bai Tang collapsed, the protective mode kicked in. Qiu’er injected the system’s stored energy into his body.
It was truly reckless. Bai Tang wasn’t just treating the lambs for contagious ecthyma—he was healing them entirely, from head to hoof. Twelve lambs—it was like saving twelve lives.
It wasn’t fair to say the little squirrel was weak in healing. After all, healing abilities were different from wood-based abilities. The squirrel had always been attuned to nature and had focused mostly on wood-based powers. For his healing abilities to reach this level was already quite impressive.
The lambs that had been healed by Bai Tang began bleating anxiously, their cries sharp and high-pitched.
Their unusual calls quickly drew everyone’s attention.
No one knew who shouted first—”Someone’s fainted!”
Hearing the cry, Tuoba Jingyao turned toward the sound. When he couldn’t spot the young boy, a sense of dread rose in his chest.
Who fainted? Tang Tang’s body is so weak… Could it be—
He pushed through the crowd. Lying on the grass, pale as a sheet—who else could it be but Bai Tang?
“Tang Tang…” Tuoba Jingyao scooped the boy up in his arms. To Rong Ningjing, who had come over, he quickly said, “I’m leaving this to you,” and strode off with long, urgent steps.
He rushed the boy back to his tent. Just as he laid him gently onto a blanket, the tribe’s physician lifted the flap and entered.
“Master Xin, please come quickly and take a look at Tang Tang.”
Master Xin was the tribe’s elder physician. His hair and beard were completely white, and he moved slowly with age. Today, his apprentices had gone to a more distant area to gather herbs in preparation for the winter. Otherwise, it was rare for Master Xin to treat patients himself.
It was an unusual sight to see Tuoba Jingyao looking so anxious. On a normal day, Master Xin might have teased him a little, but this was a matter of life and death—checking on the patient came first.
Master Xin placed a hand on the boy’s wrist to take his pulse. Stroking his beard, he frowned from time to time, occasionally touching the boy’s forehead, lifting his eyelids. The sight left Tuoba Jingyao on edge, constantly feeling as if the physician would speak some terrible diagnosis at any moment.
At length, Master Xin withdrew his hand and said to Tuoba Jingyao, “It’s just severe physical weakness. He’s not suited for long hours of labor. Nothing serious, but he’ll need proper rest. He can’t do strenuous work in the future.”
In the tribe, having a frail body was not a good thing, which was why Master Xin had examined him so thoroughly. Finally, he confirmed that this physical frailty had been present since birth. Such a body needed to be raised with great care—it must not be overworked. He sighed quietly in his heart.
When he took the boy’s pulse, he had already diagnosed significant energy depletion. With a body like this, he likely wouldn’t live past twenty-five. He must have been carefully looked after in the past, which allowed him to grow up without illness or pain. But now, having come to the harsher conditions of the grasslands, who knew what his future would hold?
Bai Tang awoke from unconsciousness and happened to see Tuoba Jingyao speaking with an elderly man.
He propped up his weak body and called out feebly, “Ah Yao~”
“You’re awake, Tang Tang. Why didn’t you say anything if you weren’t feeling well? That was far too reckless.”
Though Tuoba Jingyao’s words carried a hint of reproach, his eyes were full of concern and affection for Bai Tang.
“I was wrong~” Bai Tang lowered his head, revealing a small patch of his pale, delicate neck. Qiu’er and Xiao A had already scolded him, and now Ah Yao was saying the same.
Master Xin looked at the way Tuoba Jingyao treated the boy, and understanding dawned in his heart.
The previous chieftain had also been consumed by love—after the chieftain’s wife passed away, he fell ill from longing and soon followed her in death.
The Tuoba family had a long history of being deeply emotional. Master Xin only hoped that Tuoba Jingyao wouldn’t fall too deep.
“Jingyao,” Master Xin called, drawing both their gazes toward him.
“This is Master Xin, the tribe’s elder physician,” Tuoba Jingyao introduced him to Bai Tang.
“Hello, Master Xin~” the boy greeted with a sweet smile. His pale face, tinged with weakness, made the old man—who had always been fond of children—feel a pang of sympathy.
“Hello to you too.”
It wasn’t hard to guess Bai Tang’s identity.
The news that a young boy from the Central Plains had arrived in the tribe had long spread. Within the tribe, Master Xin didn’t need to make a special effort to recognize him—he was clearly the most delicate and slender one around.
Tuoba Jingyao could tell that Master Xin had something to say, so he settled Bai Tang comfortably and followed the physician outside the tent.
Master Xin didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point. “Jingyao, have you truly set your heart on Bai Tang?”
Tuoba Jingyao replied firmly, “Yes, I have. Tang Tang is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. Without him, life would have no meaning.”
Master Xin sighed. “I hadn’t planned to say this, but since you’ve spoken so seriously, you deserve to know the truth. That child’s body is very frail—he may not live past twenty-five.”
Tuoba Jingyao’s expression shifted. “Is there any way…?”
“There’s no cure. He can only be cared for meticulously—no hardship, no heavy labor. That might add a few more years to his life. But this place is no match for the Central Plains. The climate, the resources… everything falls short.”
What Master Xin didn’t know was that his single remark would end up accelerating the story’s original course.
In the original plot, two years after the female lead arrived, the Central Plains nation of Aixi—seeking to expand its territory—set its sights on the Xingluo tribe that lived on the grasslands, which was Tuoba Jingyao’s tribe. That’s when the storyline involving the female lead being forced to become a hostage began.
But now, because of Master Xin’s words, Tuoba Jingyao had begun to seriously consider the possibility of entering and settling in the Central Plains.
The grasslands had unpredictable weather, and every winter, members of the tribe would perish. If they could live in a stable place, without the daily struggle for survival, it would be far better.
Moreover, the boy was used to the Central Plains’ climate. Tuoba Jingyao truly feared that Bai Tang wouldn’t be able to adapt to life on the grasslands—and would die young.
The frail boy sat on the blanket and smiled at him. “Ah Yao, I know I was wrong. Please don’t be mad, okay~?”
Tuoba Jingyao’s cold expression just now had made Bai Tang nervous. But he knew his man well—say a few sweet words, admit fault, and throw in a little benefit, and he usually wouldn’t stay mad for long.
Hmm~ As for the benefit… but they’d only known each other for two days!
Xiao A’s voice echoed from the white room, “Don’t worry, Host. In the last world, you and the male lead hit a home run the moment you met. I’m sure you’ll be fine this time too!”
Qiu’er’s voice rang out, high-pitched and anxious. “No! Tang Tang’s body is way too weak right now—how could he handle that…”
Bai Tang didn’t hear a word Qiu’er said—he was too busy blushing at the memory of the last world.
His man, back then, had definitely been the master of… variety.
Lost in thought, a rosy flush crept across Bai Tang’s pale face.
“Do you have a fever?” Tuoba Jingyao reached out and felt Bai Tang’s forehead. It was slightly warm, but still within normal range.
“N-No, not at all~” Bai Tang bit his lower lip lightly, and the soft red of his lips framed by pearly teeth made for a very tempting sight.
He stole a glance at Tuoba Jingyao, then quickly lowered his head again.
However, Tuoba Jingyao—radiating uprightness and entirely focused on Bai Tang’s health—completely missed the boy’s signals. Worried that Bai Tang had caught a chill while tending the lambs, he wrapped him up tightly in layers of blankets.
The little squirrel, now tightly bundled: Where did my flirtatious husband from before go…?
Bai Tang, having thrown his first flirtatious glance at someone completely blind to it, huffed angrily and lay down, turning his back to Tuoba Jingyao with a cold snort.
Tuoba Jingyao panicked. “Tang Tang, are you feeling unwell? Please tell me if something’s wrong.”
Bai Tang replied, “I don’t want to talk to you right now. Go away.”
Tuoba Jingyao was confused—how had things suddenly turned into this? Still, the slight pout in Bai Tang’s voice also reassured him that the boy’s health was stable.
“Okay, okay, I’ll go. Tang Tang, get some good rest.”
Hearing that, Bai Tang grew even more frustrated.
Normally, he would have coaxed me by now—why is he actually just leaving like that this time?
Bai Tang sat up. The tent was empty except for him. Tuoba Jingyao had really left.
The spoiled little squirrel felt deeply wronged and muttered to himself, “You’re ignoring me? Then I’ll ignore you too…”
Tuoba Jingyao really did “obediently” go check on the flock.
After finally separating the infected lambs, Rong Ningjing began to worry again.
This wasn’t the modern world where you could just buy whatever you needed.
In ancient times, only herbal medicine existed—so where exactly were they supposed to find medicine for the lambs?
Author’s Note:
This is a male lead who wants to pamper Tang Tang but has no idea how to start… I’m so anxious for him. He’s already made Tang Tang cry from frustration!