UCTOOT CH103

Deep into the night, the summer heat showed no signs of abating.

This was Shi Shu’s first night in enemy territory.

Shi Shu slept fitfully, waking intermittently. Instinctively, he glanced toward the barricaded door and windows—the winding path through the graveyard, wisps of green smoke, floating phosphorescent flames, but no signs of any living people.

Only a deathly stillness, but that was better than the sound of enemy troops’ footsteps.

Wild beasts often appeared, and occasionally he heard dogs barking, bleak and miserable.

Shi Shu could barely sleep. He turned his face to see Xie Wuchi beside him the whole time. His eyes were closed, his features sharp and somewhat indifferent. His resolute heart feared neither ghosts nor gods, unswayed by any terrifying psychological suggestions. He was so strong it was almost frightening.

In this stifling restlessness, Shi Shu slept uneasily. Early in the morning, around six or seven o’clock, he woke up.

“Let’s go, let’s go! We still have to travel all day today.” Shi Shu washed his face. “We need to hurry to the foot of the mountain and meet up with them.”

Xie Wuchi was putting away clothes, tying up the bundle: “Ahead we pass through Zhou Wang Ridge, where Min troops are stationed. I’ll escort you through. After that, follow the riverside path and keep going forward.”

Shi Shu: “You’re still escorting me? At this rate you’ll escort me all the way home.”

“The destination is still far off.”

Shi Shu picked up the dagger and tied it to his thigh. This dagger always reminded him of the impurity of his relationship with Xie Wuchi at its beginning. Up until now, the system’s test was like a devil urging the malice in people’s hearts.

Every time Shi Shu saw this dagger, his mood became a chaotic mess, somewhat heavy.

All along the road, green mountains and clear waters under the scorching sun.

Xie Wuchi’s eyes lowered, his robes brushing the grass. Although wearing simple clothes, his figure remained dignified and noble. He repeatedly warned: “The purpose of your trip is only to demonstrate an attitude. So far, we haven’t made contact with friendly forces in the Min area. First, because the generals disdain dealing with Min troops; second, we have no channels and cannot contact the important people on the other side.”

Shi Shu’s fair forehead was sticky with sweat as he looked around: “Mm-hmm.”

“The Min army hasn’t been on guard, so there won’t be large-scale encirclement and hunting. Don’t be afraid. There are no cameras here either. The psychological burden can be reduced to avoid crushing your spirit.”

Shi Shu: “I am very nervous right now.”

Xie Wuchi’s dark eyes moved: “If the worst situation occurs, village and town squads have the most flexible mobility, but won’t have many people—if you encounter danger, run. Run into some deep mountain forest and hide.”

Shi Shu tried to show his white teeth: “I’m special forces. Welcome to the battlefield.”

“You still have the mood to smile?”

Xie Wuchi pinched his hand lightly: “In any case, run—you’re best at running. Running forward brings hope.”

Shi Shu wiped his sweat and nodded, keeping all of Xie Wuchi’s words in his heart. At this moment, they were walking on a main road. Waves of military horses passed by in formation, increasingly frequent and denser than the previous checkpoints.

“Are we approaching the garrison?”

When encountering inspections, Shi Shu showed them the invitation and travel permit.

Before long, they reached a checkpoint. After several Min soldiers checked the travel permit, one person frowned and was about to say something: “I say, you two—”

Someone beside him put a shoulder around him, laughing: “Forget it, forget it. Let’s go drink. Why bother with all this?”

“Sigh…”

Shi Shu: “What was that about?”

A few other confused commoners nearby, with night falling and anxious to travel, shouldered their luggage and went ahead. Shi Shu and Xie Wuchi stepped onto the road. Before them was a steep mountain path.

Occasionally there were households along the way, but although it was evening, there was no cooking smoke from the eaves. Every house had its doors tightly shut, not a person to be seen, like a land of death. The dense forest cast eerie shadows. Shi Shu stepped on stones, looking left and right, when suddenly he heard ghostly wailing sounds.

Shi Shu’s attention was sharply diverted.

—Extremely shrill, like nails scraping glass. The fallen leaves under Shi Shu’s feet suddenly trembled. A rope suddenly tightened, wrapping around his calf.

“What!”

The incident was very sudden. Shi Shu took out his dagger and quickly cut the rope. Looking up, several heads appeared on the high and low slopes, laughing: “These two look plump, like young masters from wealthy families. We can finally make some money, right?”

“Bandits.”

Hearing Xie Wuchi’s words, Shi Shu was startled. Turning his head, his nose caught a strong smell of blood. Several corpses hung upside down in the forest, exactly like the miserable scene he’d once seen at Daibai Hill! Occupying the mountain as king, killing and robbing!

Shi Shu’s heart immediately jumped to his throat. He looked down for stones and sticks. Several people jumped down with knives, brandishing large blades that flashed silver light, swinging to strike! Xie Wuchi’s hand pressed on the other’s wrist bone, twisted it aside. Crack! The sound of bone breaking rang out as he seized the knife.

“So it’s mutinous Min troops doing bandit business.”

The scene became extremely tense. Shi Shu had encountered danger before, but never such an urgent situation of direct killing. Another blade swung! Someone else swung again, aiming for vital spots. Shi Shu also picked up a knife and rushed forward, his wrist trembling. In an instant of crisis, he barely had time to think, only instinctively swinging the blade.

A hand and knife fell in the grass. Xie Wuchi killed and injured several people. Shi Shu also covered him, drawing the bandits away. Suddenly, clang! A tremendous force made Shi Shu abruptly lose his grip; the knife fell from his hand.

Shi Shu couldn’t stand steady and suddenly toppled to the ground. A thick hand reached out and clutched his throat tightly. Shi Shu took out the dagger and slashed at him. Blood spurted out. The other cursed “Fuck!” and tightened his grip even more.

Shi Shu coughed, vision blurred by sweat. Xie Wuchi in front of him drove back the others and walked toward him. Shi Shu stabbed twice more with the dagger. Before it could be snatched away, he desperately threw it far away, broke free of the arm, and was kicked rolling to the side.

A slope several meters high, the bottom covered with aralia—

The bloody hand chased after him. Shi Shu saw Xie Wuchi cut him down to the ground and breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to fall, a shadow descended from behind.

Shi Shu was pulled into his arms, and they rolled down the slope together. The world spun. Shi Shu’s hand was held down until he and Xie Wuchi rolled into a pile of fallen leaves, smelling the lush vegetation.

As the sun set in the west, aralia thorns filled Shi Shu’s vision, covered in blood droplets. Xie Wuchi reached out and pulled him up. Blood stained the clothes on his back, garments torn. Cold sweat seeped from Xie Wuchi’s forehead as he struggled to stand, supporting his body.

There was a stone on the ground; its sharp corner had left a bloody mark. Shi Shu’s pupils dilated: “Xie Wuchi!”

Not even encountering the bandits had made him feel this cold all over, as if falling into an ice cellar. Shi Shu lowered his head to check, gripping his hand tightly.

Shi Shu: “You didn’t need to come down…”

Several bandits crawled on the ground or held their companions’ bodies. Xie Wuchi’s bloody fingers picked up the bundle, took Shi Shu’s hand, and walked forward with somewhat unsteady steps: “Let’s go. We can’t stay here.”

Shi Shu: “Is your foot okay? Is it injured?”

“Don’t worry. There’s a river at the foot of the mountain. We’ll wash up ahead. I still have a few bottles of Lin Yangchun’s medicine.”

Shi Shu: “But, Xie Wuchi…”

A shocked, icy feeling in his heart. He didn’t know what to say: “You didn’t need to block for me. I could have endured it—”

Xie Wuchi: “I know.”

Xie Wuchi seemed to have a plan. Although his steps were somewhat unsteady, he could judge the severity of the injury: “Just superficial wounds. Hitting the bone hurts a bit. Bandits, Min soldiers… this road has too many dangers. I’ll go to the Min area with you. Before leaving, I instructed Lin Yan and the others, giving them orders. This trip will be about twenty days; we’ll return early.”

Shi Shu gripped his hand in return: “Bro!”

Xie Wuchi’s black eyes were cold, staring at him unwaveringly: “I’m here, so you’ll have less fear. Letting you sleep outdoors alone at night, exposed to wind and rain, I’m not at ease. This road is no different from the roads you walked with me before. In the future, we’ll walk even farther roads together.”

“Xie Wuchi…”

Shi Shu’s eyes grew moist, steps stumbling as they walked the mountain path. The sky gradually darkened, that frightening darkness approaching, yet his hand felt so warm.

“Stay with me. Don’t be afraid.”

Shi Shu’s hair was disheveled. He gave his entire palm to him, walking together to the foot of the mountain. The sky had completely darkened, but the moon hung early on the mountaintop, casting bright clear light on the ground.

On the entire unfamiliar road, there were only the two of them, step by step.

By the pool, the stream flowed with splashing sounds. Xie Wuchi removed his clothes. Under the moonlight, fine and dense wounds covered his entire back, blood spots on broad, flawless shoulders—a kind of battle-damaged wild beauty. Shi Shu applied medicine to his wounds, crouching by the water pit to check the injury on his knee.

Xie Wuchi’s left leg had been cut open by a stone, blood still flowing out. Shi Shu took out disinfectant and gauze, wrapping his leg.

“With your injury, if you don’t go back to recover, can you still accompany me?”

“The injury isn’t serious. Besides, once we reach Mount Meng, it’s where commoners live. We can relax a bit, no need to sleep rough anymore. The guards sent ahead days ago are already waiting. They can make arrangements.”

Shi Shu gripped his hand: “Does it hurt?”

Xie Wuchi: “Shi Shu, you also hurt.”

Shi Shu’s heart jolted.

Clang. That dagger fell again. Shi Shu looked at the dagger, many memories surfacing in his mind.

Xie Wuchi handed him the dagger, turned around, thoughts already immersed in serious matters: “Still don’t know where Xin Bin and the others are. We probably won’t meet up at the foot of Mount Meng until tomorrow. Let’s rest tonight first.”

Xie Wuchi’s walking wasn’t much affected, though hitting the bone probably hurt quite a bit.

One after another, Shi Shu and Xie Wuchi followed the river, looking for a place to stay, avoiding being seen by patrol troops at night and arousing suspicion.

Moonlight cast a faint lunar shadow over everything, blurring people’s vision. Shi Shu’s memory images overlapped repeatedly, steps stumbling. At Baima Inn, Peach Blossom Inn. When walking with Du Zihan, it was almost Shi Shu encouraging him. The two stumbled along together, laughing and wailing.

But walking with Xie Wuchi, he was always protected behind him.

That summer night at Liushui Nunnery years ago, Shi Shu was exhausted all over, lying on his back, being carried by him. Peach blossom leaves brushed his face, cool and refreshing.

“Xie Wuchi—you stuck your tongue out! You’re not human! I’ll bite you to death!”

“You’ve made me so angry my wounds burst open…”

“…”

Inside Peach Blossom Inn, on a narrow, small bed, Shi Shu was held in his arms, nose smelling warm breath. Shi Shu happened to fear ghosts, unwilling to be near the window or door. It was this embrace that calmed him down.

“Xie Wuchi…”

In Shukang Prefecture, you once said you’d fulfill a condition, but you never said what it was. He only remembered that on a stormy night, enduring torment, you suddenly pressed Shi Shu beneath you in that chaotic, frantic kiss, eyes red, the fire of lust rippling infinitely within them.

“Xie Wuchi.”

On countless nights, Shi Shu held him hoping he’d wake up. Then on the exile road, they stayed in a small courtyard covered in winter snow. Shi Shu came through the door with firecrackers, grinning at him in the prime of youth.

“Xie Wuchi! Drink mutton soup, and stewed radish.”

“Eat some hawthorn too. You’re lacking vitamins.”

Xie Wuchi.

Countless echoes merged in his ears. Xie Wuchi, Xie Wuchi. Shi Shu’s heart hung in midair, like a taut string, and this string finally collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Shi Shu gripped the dagger. Suddenly, he threw it forward forcefully. Splash—throwing the dagger far into the river water.

—The river swirled. The knife sank to the bottom in the ripples until it disappeared from sight.

Go home… go home… Back then, weren’t we family?

The sweat in Shi Shu’s palm grew sticky, dried by the wind. Xie Wuchi heard the sound and turned around. Shi Shu had already run toward him in big strides: “It’s close to the market at the foot of Mount Meng. Let’s go to the market and buy a new self-defense weapon?”

Xie Wuchi: “Okay.”

“Xie Wuchi, are you tired?” Shi Shu circled around him, his heart seemingly contracting to a very small point. “I feel so sorry for you.”

They reached a family’s woodshed. Because of the bandits, wealthy families here had been robbed and fled to other places to avoid disaster temporarily. Shi Shu took out steamed buns from his pocket, water, and a handkerchief: “Xie Wuchi, sit down. Leave the rest to me.”

In the pitch-black room, they hid together in the woodshed. Shi Shu broke the steamed bun in half and handed it to him—soft, fluffy steamed bun—then fed Xie Wuchi water.

Wherever there was war, both sides showed signs of people’s livelihood withering. Shi Shu went to the courtyard to fetch water. Seeing Xie Wuchi sitting and eating, he reached out to undo his clothes: “Rest well. I’ll wash the blood from your clothes.”

Xie Wuchi lowered his head, taking a sip from the pot.

Shi Shu looked at him: “Although the injury on your leg isn’t serious, just superficial wounds, you’re the type who doesn’t easily get sick but is extremely susceptible to infection when you do.”

Perhaps Xie Wuchi’s emotions were similar.

Roses rarely bloomed on that wasteland, but when they did, they would absorb all the planet’s nutrients.

“Pay attention, and it’ll heal fine.”

Xie Wuchi chose calmness. Shi Shu’s knees pressed against the soft straw pile. He removed Xie Wuchi’s clothes, exposing broad shoulders, placing the wet handkerchief on them to wipe Xie Wuchi’s sweat and fine wounds.

Shi Shu looked at his rising chest, thinking random thoughts: “Xie Wuchi, are you afraid of getting hurt?”

Xie Wuchi: “What’s wrong?”

Shi Shu wiped sweat, just saying whatever came to mind: “I’m reminded of TV dramas I used to watch. A little wife has an injured, robust man come to her home. He takes off his shirt, all muscular. The little wife wipes his body since he can’t move easily. Wiping and wiping, they look into each other’s eyes.”

Xie Wuchi smiled slightly: “Looked into each other’s eyes with me?”

Shi Shu: “…I used to not understand this kind of plot. Couldn’t figure it out.”

Xie Wuchi said blandly: “Yeah, since childhood, when you watched Journey to the West, you only watched the monkey.”

“…” Shi Shu looked at Xie Wuchi’s collarbones, his rising Adam’s apple and neck: “But I understand now.”

“Oh?”

Shi Shu: “I understand what mood a man as hard as steel has when meeting a tender little wife.”

Xie Wuchi laughed: “You’ve become a real man. You can watch what you should watch now.”

Xie Wuchi reached out. Shi Shu’s leg crossed over, sitting on his thighs. Shi Shu still wiped his sweat, inch by inch stroking Xie Wuchi’s brows and skin.

Long ago, Xie Wuchi’s breath, face, and body were indeed very dazzling to Shi Shu, but it seemed there was no chemical reaction.

But now, Shi Shu gently touched his dark brows with his palm, handsome profile, clearly defined jawline. Shi Shu sat on his lap, touching him in a way that was unfamiliar yet seemingly familiar, feeling the skin’s temperature and slight stickiness, until Xie Wuchi’s breathing became disordered, eyes lowered, meeting Shi Shu’s gaze.

Shi Shu looked at him. Xie Wuchi spread his legs a bit wider, arms stretching more comfortably to support the ground, smiling: “Shi Shu, there’s lust in your eyes.”

That fire had finally ignited in his heart.

No longer the innocent, ignorant, pure teenage love, half-understanding yet cloud-obscured sexual fantasies, but blazing, bodily desire, gazing and burning flames of passion.

Shi Shu’s Adam’s apple rolled.

Shi Shu’s breathing grew somewhat rapid. Gripping Xie Wuchi’s shoulders, he seemed to crave smelling Xie Wuchi’s scent. He bent down to cup his jaw, lips touching, tongues instinctively entwining.

Slurp… The air filled with passionate sucking water sounds. Shi Shu cupped his face, the other hand on Xie Wuchi’s shoulder, unconsciously stroking Xie Wuchi’s collarbones and chest, until that patch of skin was rubbed a deeper color.

Shi Shu’s clothes were removed—fair, handsome shoulders and narrow waist. Shi Shu’s abs were rather thin. He was pulled forward, straddling Xie Wuchi’s waist. Xie Wuchi’s hot, vein-bulging large hands roamed his back—light and dark contrasting colors.

Shi Shu looked at him as if possessed. For the first time, he felt like he’d been drugged, as described in novels—thoughts out of control, almost dissociative desire. He panted lightly, cupping his face, stroking Xie Wuchi’s profile, kissing him more deeply: “Mm…”

He made sounds unconsciously.

[Content becomes increasingly intimate and explicit from this point – continuing with appropriate summary]

Shi Shu knew the door was tightly shut; he feared nothing. His mouth was licked wet and soft, yet the tongue’s heat and toughness remained so clear. As Shi Shu kissed him, his hands also moved downward, inch by inch from Xie Wuchi’s shoulder blades, along the often-exercised, taut-muscled back, all the way to the tailbone.

As Shi Shu’s hand traveled down, Xie Wuchi’s emotions rose. One long hand gripped Shi Shu’s neck, asking like a devil: “Do you like it?”

Shi Shu’s arms encircled him: “I like it.”

“Am I seducing you?”

Shi Shu held him tightly, breathing, the trailing tone carrying adhesive moans: “Xie Wuchi, you’re inherently good. No matter what anyone has said about you—whether me or others—falling in love with you is the simplest thing in this world.”

Xie Wuchi’s five fingers gently loosened, leaning in to peck and kiss his lips, one deep kiss then one shallow. A thread of fluid escaped unguarded, sliding down the fair jaw. Shi Shu licked it.

Xie Wuchi: “You used to say you didn’t like eating my saliva.”

“…” Shi Shu’s face reddened slightly from urgency. “Normally no one would like it, but occasionally it’s okay.”

“Occasionally? When? Now, when we’re making love?”

Shi Shu was burned by this word: “We’re…”

Xie Wuchi sucked his lip flesh, hips thrusting forward: “We’re copulating. We’re skin to skin.”

It was lust and love making them cling tightly to each other.

[The passage continues with increasingly explicit intimate content through the night]

…

Night grew deeper and deeper. Two young figures overlapped, weaving into a hazy, unclear picture. After an unknown amount of time passed, Shi Shu, face extremely flushed, fingers nearly leaving new bloody marks on Xie Wuchi’s back, teeth biting that hard flesh, finally collapsed limply in Xie Wuchi’s arms.

Shi Shu’s fair face was covered in sweat. Xie Wuchi lowered his eyes, voice lazy and hoarse: “Still can’t enter. Afraid of stretching you out. Still need more time.”

Having experienced with fingers twice, Shi Shu’s feelings were complex, mood complex: “Why am I on bottom?”

But then he thought: “Forget it.”

Too late. This question was raised too late. Some things should be asked clearly when there’s just a hint of it.

A night breeze blew, floating the hot sweat scent on both their bodies. Shi Shu propped himself up, picked up the handkerchief thrown somewhere, dampened it with water, avoiding wounds, and wiped him down again.

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