UCTOOT CH70

Shi Shu brushed the snow from his hands, stood up, and said with a laugh, “Xie Wuchi, you came over to join the commotion too.”

Xie Wuchi drew near, strands of his hair dancing in the blizzard, a faint glow shimmering across his figure. Holding his riding crop in one hand, he strode until he stood right before him.

“Expecting you to be obedient seems to be wishful thinking.”

Seeing him, Shi Shu recalled the matter of the hairpin, the smile vanishing from his face. But with so many eyes and ears around, and Song Sinan watching from the side, he changed the subject: “You haven’t been back for days, and we had no idea what you were up to. Zihan and I just came out to take a look, that’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Mm.”

Xie Wuchi unclasped a waist token from his sash and passed it into Shi Shu’s palm.

The wind and snow were biting. Shi Shu’s hand was taken in his, warm to the touch, as he heard Xie Wuchi say, “The logistics crew is safe, staying with them is fine. It is just that tonight will be bitterly cold…”

He lowered his voice: “Come sleep with me.”

Shi Shu paused, clutching the waist token. As he lowered his head, Xie Wuchi’s fingertips brushed lightly against his cheek.

What was this?

Who are you inviting?

I am a straight guy.

Shi Shu was still getting used to it when Xie Wuchi turned, mounted his horse, and rode off once more with the officers inspecting provisions. Staring blankly at the icy waist token in his hand, Du Zihan chimed in, “Oho, what’s with the stammering? Xie-ge left you his token?”

Turning around, Shi Shu climbed back onto the wagon and cracked the whip: “Left a token? Cut it out, you make it sound like ordering a male model.”

Du Zihan: “Even if it’s ordering a male model, it would be you ordering him, not him calling on you. Look at him radiating charm again.”

Shi Shu: “Still running your mouth? Keep it up and I’ll speed up and bounce you right off the wagon. The snow on the ground is freezing, just the thing to cool your head.”

Du Zihan let out three hearty laughs before shutting his mouth, leaving only Song Sinan scratching his head in utter bewilderment: “What’s ordering a male model?” “What does male model mean?” “Speed up what?”

The logistics team finally arrived at the field encampment. The first contingent had already pitched camp, so the second began unloading and arranging supplies. Northern winds lashed at their faces as dusk deepened, the crowd braving the brutal blizzard until all provisions were properly stowed and tents secured.

When it was time to rest, everyone headed toward the logistics tents. Shi Shu joined them for dinner and washed up until sleeping pallets were assigned. Du Zihan asked, “You’re not sleeping with us, right?”

Shi Shu: “What do you mean by that?”

Du Zihan snickered, turning to Song Sinan: “He’s going to find his gege. I’ll bunk with you guys, wouldn’t want to get in the way of a xiongdi reunion.”

Hearing that, Song Sinan burst into laughter at once: “Hahaha, how old are you two?”

Shi Shu: “…”

Shi Shu’s earlobes flushed shamefully pink. He wanted nothing more than to hurl the waist token ten thousand li away, but held back: “I’m just going to check on him and come right back. Save my spot.”

“Hey, don’t forget the package!” Du Zihan called out. Shi Shu caught a lotus-leaf pouch. “There’s milk-crisp sweets inside, take some for your ge to try.”

Shi Shu was about to refuse: “A waste… Xie Wuchi is an elite scion who looks down on everything. If you give it to him, he might not even eat it.” He might just toss it out like trash.

Even so, Shi Shu brought it along, walking toward the forward command tents of the field camp. With the token in hand, passage was smooth and unhindered. It was right at twilight as the sun sank, dense clouds churning amid mist and snow, blurring the path ahead. Shi Shu asked for directions as he walked, freezing cold all over, until he finally arrived before the staff advisor’s command tent.

Stepping inside, a large copper brazier stood within the tent, glowing with crimson charcoal embers. The furnishings were sparse. Xie Wuchi sat before a long desk writing, dressed in loose, immaculate robes that exuded an aura of refined, timeless elegance. The moment Shi Shu entered, he stood up and walked straight over to him.

Shi Shu was about to say, “Xie Wuchi, they had me bring you some sweets…”

Before his words finished, feverish lips pressed down upon his. The chill clinging to Shi Shu’s body was swept away in an instant. His face was cupped as kisses pecked at his lips, Xie Wuchi’s dark pupils gazing quietly at him.

“Normally I regulate my sugar intake, but since you brought it, I can have a taste.”

“……………”

Truly worthy of Mr. Self-Discipline.

Shi Shu looked down, untied the lotus-leaf bundle, and handed it over solemnly: “Eat.”

Unexpectedly, Xie Wuchi leaned in for another kiss, bumping Shi Shu’s chin with a slight sting as his steps stumbled back against the cold fabric of the tent. Just as Shi Shu went to speak, his waist was caught, vision sinking into shadow. In the darkness, the tactile sensation on his lips grew piercingly vivid. Xie Wuchi’s tongue slid inside, teasing and licking the tip of his tongue before swirling relentlessly within his mouth, until Shi Shu’s breath grew ragged. His cold, handsome face flushed scarlet with rising heat, the corners of his eyes reddening as he panted and looked up at Xie Wuchi, his free hand instinctively resting on his shoulder.

Perhaps because they hadn’t seen each other for a couple of days, Shi Shu panted with furrowed brows, feeling a strange distance.

Xie Wuchi asked, “Does it feel good?”

Shi Shu: “N-Not… good.”

Barely had the words left him when his lips were captured again. Shi Shu gradually felt his center of gravity shift as Xie Wuchi scooped under his thighs, lifting him up, kissing him as he carried him.

Until he was brought somewhere warm behind him, close to the fire brazier, and set down right onto Xie Wuchi’s lap.

Shi Shu was practically out of breath, clutching the lotus-leaf parcel of milk-crisps in a white-knuckled grip. Xie Wuchi chuckled as he gently pried his fingers open one by one, finally freeing Shi Shu’s hand.

“Were you a good boy these past few days? Did you miss me?”

Shi Shu instantly felt the conversation was crossing lines, his face flushing: “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Though you certainly have it made now, living in your own private tent while over ten of us are squeezed together back there.”

Xie Wuchi straightened his face: “From now on, come find gege to sleep.”

“……………”

Damn it, who are you trying to seduce?

Shi Shu’s upright, handsome straight-guy face burned beet red.

Had he known Xie Wuchi was like this, he’d regret fleeing Xiangnan Temple with him every single day, humph.

Shi Shu tried to get off his lap, but was held too tightly to budge, so he shifted the topic: “The pastry, want a piece?”

“Baobao, feed me.” Xie Wuchi insisted on being fed by Shi Shu. Steeling himself, Shi Shu fed him a piece. While eating, Xie Wuchi pressed Shi Shu firmly into his arms, holding him close.

“I missed you.”

“…” Hearing that, Shi Shu’s face flushed bright red again. Holding his breath, he dared not utter a sound. No matter how many times Xie Wuchi confessed affection, he could never get used to it; one look at Xie Wuchi and all he felt was male competitive instinct.

Sitting in his embrace, Shi Shu didn’t know where to put his hands, leaving them dangling at his sides.

“Five days until your birthday, right?”

Shi Shu: “Mm.”

“Such a good boy.”

“…” Shi Shu bristled, having no idea what was supposedly “good” about him.

Xie Wuchi only ate one piece of the milk-crisp, rinsing his mouth with clean water and spitting it into a teacup. Then he adjusted his hold on Shi Shu, resting a hand on his back and shifting Shi Shu’s legs slightly forward.

Then, their eyes met, and they kissed once more.

“Gege wants to kiss.”

Aaaah, stop using baby talk!

Wearing the tragic, valiant expression of a martyr going to his doom, Shi Shu’s face was cradled as Xie Wuchi took a soft peck at his lips, pressing and rubbing over and over. Shi Shu’s fair face turned bright crimson. Truth be told, if Xie Wuchi acted shameless, Shi Shu could still feign blank innocence, but when he turned this gentle, Shi Shu grew intensely embarrassed.

Xie Wuchi gently parted his lips: “Open your mouth.”

Shi Shu stubbornly kept his teeth clenched, until fingers caressed them open and the tip of a tongue licked into his mouth once more.

Bathed in the warm candlelight, Shi Shu was held on his lap as they embraced and kissed. By the time they parted, Shi Shu’s entire spine had gone limp. Locking eyes with Xie Wuchi, their heated breaths tangling together, Shi Shu’s scalp prickled with goosebumps.

A glistening thread of moisture clung to their lips. Looking at him, Xie Wuchi spoke slowly, his voice deep and raspy:

“Мне ты нравишься.”

Shi Shu was baffled: “What? You’re not cursing at me, are you?”

Xie Wuchi smiled faintly, leaning in for another kiss.

The wind and snow raged outside while his embrace restored warmth, an intimate atmosphere that truly felt like dating. But Shi Shu’s thoughts shifted, recalling the matter of the hairpin, and he said, “Xie Wuchi, in Du Zihan’s luggage, I saw a hairpin identical to yours.”

Xie Wuchi showed no surprise. Lowering his head, shadows settled across his brow: “Oh, is that so.”

A sudden chill ran down Shi Shu’s spine: “You knew all along?”

Xie Wuchi stood up, stepping to the desk to turn through documents. After a quiet pause, he lifted his eyes, saying evenly, “Living side by side with Du Zihan day and night, it surprises me that you only discovered Zhang Tong’s keepsake now.”

As the blizzard howled, doubt churned in Shi Shu’s heart, freezing him in place: “So his name was Zhang Tong. You’ve met him? But you told me before that I was the first transmigrator you met.”

Xie Wuchi: “Sit down, and I will explain it to you slowly.”

Shi Shu did not sit. Xie Wuchi’s fingers rustled through the parchment, seemingly weighing his words, before he spoke a moment later: “The moment he saw me, he was brimming with hostility, even before I displayed any aggression. Only upon seeing Du Zihan recently did I understand that another reason he chose suicide back then was to protect Du Zihan’s life.”

Shi Shu: “Explain yourself clearly.”

Xie Wuchi looked up, gazing at Shi Shu: “Do not be so tense. I admit, I harbored ill intentions toward you at the very beginning. I need to apologize to you first.”

Shi Shu: “I don’t understand, be more specific.”

Before their words could finish, a horn call tore through the heavens outside the tent, a dull, heavy, resonant blare that sliced clean through the snowy night, reverberating straight into everyone’s nerves. Shi Shu had never heard such a horn call before, turning sharply toward the tent entrance.

Following the horn blast, synchronized boot steps marched past outside, massive columns of troops moving in swift deployment.

Xie Wuchi’s brows shot up: “The battle has begun!”

A guard’s report sounded from outside: “Staff Advisor Xie! General Zhao requests your presence! Please proceed to observe the battle!”

Shi Shu glanced at Xie Wuchi, his eyes holding no words, then turned and dashed out of the camp. He seemed to hear shouts behind him, but paid them no mind. Sure enough, an assembled army moved in rigid, disciplined phalanxes, clad in pitch-black, freezing armor, spilling past the encampment gates like a dark fog, the stark contrast of snow-white and obsidian black tearing through like a river bursting into the sea.

Sprinting through the snowy night back to the logistics contingent, Song Sinan was waiting anxiously for him: “Hurry, come on!”

Shi Shu: “What happened?”

Song Sinan crooked his finger: “I’ll take you to a prime vantage point to watch the battle!”

Shi Shu brought Du Zihan along. The instant he saw him, Xie Wuchi’s words echoed in his mind. The youths sprinted across the flat, snowy dunes, snow flurries slapping against their faces. Hands and feet freezing, Shi Shu ran all the way until they reached a crescent-shaped ridge.

Song Sinan pointed eagerly: “Look, right ahead!”

“Get down! Drop down to watch!”

Dropping flat against the snow, Shi Shu stared at the section of the Tea River locked in frontal clash. Torches waved amid frantic silhouettes as the enemy camp across the water erupted in flames, roaring blazes leaping toward the sky, mingled with guttural roars, battle cries, and shrieks of agony. On the other side, war drums thundered like rolling thunder. Though deep in the silence of midnight, an earth-shaking tension reverberated between heaven and earth.

Song Sinan was ecstatic: “My ge‘s vanguard must have secured victory! They’ve finally engaged to provide support!”

Shi Shu muttered incoherently without speaking. Lying beside him, Du Zihan rubbed his bleary eyes: “Is this war?”

In the dark of night, it should have been impossible to see clearly, but with watchtowers and barracks torched, twisted black silhouettes could be seen tumbling from the flames, or hacked down from towers by spears and broadswords. Shi Shu stared fixedly at a contested focal point where endless soldiers surged forward, only to be engulfed by fire and collapse into heaps. Yet more men poured in carrying siege equipment, charging madly ahead. One could readily imagine the blisters and gore seared onto human flesh.

Silhouettes flickered before Shi Shu’s eyes. Suddenly, he called out to Du Zihan: “Was your teammate named Zhang Tong?”

Du Zihan: “Yeah, how did you know? Did I tell you?”

Shi Shu answered with another question: “In the days leading up to his suicide, did he constantly avoid seeing you, pushing you away and refusing to let you stay with him?”

Du Zihan nodded: “Yes, he said he caught a contagious disease and was doomed to die, that being near him was unsafe. Is there something suspicious about that?”

Shi Shu grabbed a handful of icy snow, squeezing it into a ball, freezing his palm numb. He said, “I am thinking about certain things.”

The battle ahead raged on, but the hellish, dancing flames left lingering afterimages in his pupils, their heat traveling from afar to graze his skin. Through the flickering firelight, another scene coalesced before Shi Shu’s eyes:

In the farming colony of Xingu Prefecture, Zhang Tong’s handmade trinkets were gifted to others. And so in the early spring fields, amid tilling peasants, a tall, upright figure halted along the ridge paths, inquiring about the origin of those crafts.

The farmers all pointed toward the dilapidated temple where Zhang Tong resided. Xie Wuchi lingered in the village, visiting the eaves of the bedridden Zhang Tong daily, while Du Zihan and the others were out laboring, missing his gaze entirely.

Back then Xie Wuchi was still alone, unaware that others had already met companions, assuming Zhang Tong was solitary. Zhang Tong had reinforced that impression, deliberately keeping Du Zihan away so that Xie Wuchi never noticed him.

What had transpired between them to drive Zhang Tong to leave an ambiguous suicide note and take his life within days?

Did Zhang Tong want to commit suicide from the start, or had he chosen death to protect Du Zihan from Xie Wuchi’s scrutiny since his days were numbered anyway?

Was the relationship between transmigrators not one of allies, but of enemies? Had Xie Wuchi known this all along, observing and stalking from the shadows, while he himself had never harbored a single doubt?

What on earth was going on?

Shi Shu’s thoughts were a tangled mess, hands frozen stiff. He lay flat on the snow until numbness set in, while the battle before him continued. Whenever an enemy fell from the fire, fresh reinforcements quickly stepped up to hold the line.

At first, several fierce Beimin commanders mounted on massive warhorses charged across to the far bank of the Tea River, shifting the epicenter of the clash toward Dajing’s border line, but they were swiftly driven back by Dajing warriors.

The night was too cold for men to endure, pausing briefly a few times only to clash into slaughter once more at the sound of the drums. Amid the freezing snow, Shi Shu finally caught faint signs of enemy collapse. Driven by some intelligence, the human tide breached the obstruction.

Returning to the logistics contingent, a few huddled by the fire to warm frozen bodies. Daylight finally cracked across the horizon. Obscured during the night, arriving by the banks of the Tea River in daylight brought Shi Shu to an abrupt halt, his pupils dilating wide.

“What kind of living hell is this.”

“Hell? What hell? We won the battle.”

Song Sinan and the logistics crew were dragging aside bodies blocking the path, shouting instructions: “Hurry it up, hurry it up!” “You take the left, he takes the right!” “The fire was huge yesterday, the ice on the Tea River almost melted, so many froze to death in the water.” “These bodies are frozen solid!” “Strip all weapons and valuables off them!” “Move, move, the corpses are frozen stuck to the ice.”

Turning to see Shi Shu, Song Sinan called out, “You two get moving too, there are more troops that need to pass through!”

Shi Shu stared blankly at the corpses before him. Exchanging a glance with Du Zihan, their expressions were profoundly strange. The bodies strewn across the ground were either soaked in crimson or charred black by fire, the freezing cold congealing blood from flowing, scattered haphazardly everywhere.

Kneeling down, Shi Shu searched the corpses for valuables, stripping off armor and garments, pulling out blades buried in flesh. Moments later, Du Zihan vanished, bolting to the side to retch.

Shi Shu inspected face after face; alongside Beimin visages were the features of Dajing men, all turned an icy, sculptured gray, horrifying to behold. Looking at the others, everyone seemed entirely accustomed, some even cheering and laughing, leaving only him and Du Zihan as complete outcasts.

Hauling corpses, Shi Shu didn’t catch what he was muttering at first, until his chanting grew louder and louder: “Why? Why? Why? Why…”

Why? Why? Why?

Once the corpses on the ice were cleared, the group resumed their march deeper into Beimin territory. Shi Shu lay on the wagon, motionless.

Du Zihan lay beside him: “Are the two of us just too weak?”

Shi Shu felt drained of all strength: “Perhaps. Right now, I just want to go home.”

Du Zihan: “We stand too low. People like General Zhao and Staff Advisor Xie can watch from the ramparts without having to take part in this.”

Shi Shu repeated slowly: “Staff… Advisor… Xie…”

Du Zihan asked him, “Are you afraid?”

Shi Shu: “I am a bit afraid.”

Du Zihan: “I am afraid too. I scrubbed my hands desperately just now, but the stench of corpses still clings to them.”

Shi Shu: “This kind of conversation really can only be shared with you.”

Sitting up, Shi Shu stared at his raw, scrubbed hands: “I really want to go home. I am truly a useless coward.”

Along the journey, this logistics crew trailed behind the forward army, clearing battle-strewn bodies and collecting reusable spoils. The further Shi Shu marched, the colder and harder his heart seemed to turn.

Snow lay deep and heavy. On the second evening after entering Beimin territory, the logistics crew reached another recent battlefield piled with corpses. Standing atop the cliff, Shi Shu looked down upon the scorched earth. The valley retained the lingering scent of grain torched by fire, an aroma mingling with the biting winter snow, laced with the unsettling smell of cooked flesh.

Corpses clad in two different military uniforms lay heaped across the terrain, frozen into the snow and ice, dead for perhaps two or three days.

Someone barked orders: “Clear the bodies quickly! Gather the spoils!”

Shi Shu and Du Zihan exchanged a glance: “Let’s get to work too.”

Song Sinan called out enthusiastically, “Another victory! This seems to have been Beimin’s grain depot. The provisions were burned clean and the supply lines severed. Transporting supplies in winter is already difficult, now the Beimin forces are truly going to suffer!”

Shi Shu: “So that was it. This vanguard sacrificed so much.”

Song Sinan turned away with a grin: “Mm, wonder where my ge and the others went, haven’t seen them at all. Let’s work first.”

Bowing his head to drag away a body, Shi Shu smoothed the man’s hair and sighed softly: “Who were you, and for whom did you die?” Saying so, he tossed him into the burial pit.

Suddenly, Shi Shu heard a piercing, agonized wail. It was Song Sinan’s voice. Turning around, he saw him cradling a charred corpse: “Ge! Ge! How could it be you! How could it be you all? Why are the dead here your men?! Ge! You’re lying to me, aren’t you? Why is it you who died!”

Shi Shu’s heart took a violent jolt, his mind reeling as if struck by a fist, plunging into suffocating gloom. Du Zihan was stunned as well, turning back to lock eyes with Shi Shu.

Yet Shi Shu felt both shocked and unshocked, his footing wavering: “General Song is dead.”

Many in this crew were kin to the Qiu Army vanguard. Hearing Song Sinan’s weeping cries, they abandoned clearing the bodies, searching frantically among the dead: “Could it be my son?” Others called out their kin’s names, wandering back and forth as if expecting a reply; some collapsed on the snow, clawing desperately through the corpses on hands and knees.

Shi Shu understood in his heart: The vanguard, penetrating deep into enemy territory, was effectively a suicide squad…

His hands freezing, he stumbled over to Song Sinan’s side. Looking at the charred remains, he patted his shoulder: “Song Sinan, are you alright…”

Song Sinan recognized the scar on his gege‘s ear and the jade talisman on his wrist. Weeping so violently he could barely form words, he sobbed brokenly: “I will kill them all… avenge you… ge… didn’t they say it was only reconnaissance… why… why was the vanguard wiped out… didn’t the scouts say only a small garrison held this place… how could it be the Min dogs’ elite force, the Lion-Armor Host…”

“Ge, I beg you… don’t die… what will I do now? You were my only kin left… Father and Mother were killed by the Min dogs, and now you are dead too… I will never forgive them; I will tear them into ten thousand pieces…”

Shi Shu saw beads of blood seeping from Song Sinan’s gritted teeth. Before he could stop him, Song Sinan drew his blade, carving stroke after stroke into his own arm to gouge the character for ‘hate.’

Shi Shu froze, pulling back his hand, looking up into the snow-swept woods.