UCTOOT CH125

Shi Shu and Xie Wuchi hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Knowing what he wanted in his heart, Shi Shu was naturally willing to cooperate.

But Shi Shu stiffened up a bit at first. After being kissed by Xie Wuchi for a while and smelling his scent, he softened again.

Xie Wuchi’s hypersexuality would intensify when he was exhausted from travel and work.

Behind the screen, the view was blocked, as was some of the draft. Candlelight flickered, casting shadows on the bed rails. Shi Shu’s fair back was exposed, and held in an embrace, things were pushed inside him stroke by stroke.

Shi Shu clenched his teeth to avoid making noise, holding onto Xie Wuchi’s neck. Each thrust went very deep, accompanied by sticky, wet sounds. Bronze light shone on the two intertwined bodies.

Shi Shu was left completely devoid of strength. When he was placed back on the bed, Xie Wuchi asked him, “Are you hot?”

“Hot.”

Shi Shu nodded, heat flooding his body again. The bedding was messy. Shi Shu’s back pressed against the bed rail as he was held sitting on Xie Wuchi’s lap, rising and falling. His voice grew hoarse, and he buried his head in Xie Wuchi’s shoulder, submitting to the intrusion.

Inside the bed curtains, they changed positions many times. The air gradually became thick. Shi Shu bit the quilt, bumped forward again and again, then was held by the waist and pulled back.

Shi Shu’s voice was completely hoarse. He was tormented until nearly dawn before being let go.

Late autumn in the north was cold, and there was no hot water in the army camp in the middle of the night. At least some was poured from a kettle to clean his body. Shi Shu was held in his arms. Xie Wuchi was very warm. Shi Shu reached out, touching his shoulder one moment and his ear the next. Xie Wuchi seemed truly tired, plus having exerted himself tonight; being touched, he subconsciously lowered his head to kiss Shi Shu.

Shi Shu couldn’t help smiling and fell asleep in his arms.

Autumn temperatures dropped rapidly.

Yong’an Prefecture and Bu Prefecture were offered up by the King of Zhouchi in surrender. The matter was significant, and many military and state affairs awaited handling. Moreover, although this matter was disguised as an accidental outbreak of war leading to the early recovery of the cities, there would surely be divergent opinions within the Imperial Court. Clever people would impeach him, and the Emperor would certainly be furious. He needed to spend time and energy dealing with it.

All morning, “The General is still sleeping off a hangover from entertaining guests last night”—one sentence blocked political affairs, allowing him to concentrate on sleeping with Shi Shu.

Shi Shu woke up at noon, got out of bed, put on clothes, and asked the attendants to prepare food. Xie Wuchi was still deep in sleep, hair scattered on the pillow. Sitting by the bed watching him, Shi Shu couldn’t help reaching out to touch his face: “Sleeping beauty, how can you look so good even when sleeping?”

Reaching into the quilt, it was very hot: “Winter is coming, Xie Wuchi. From today on, you warm my bed every night.”

Shi Shu stood up, calves aching, and hissed: “Damn, you have some skill, making me ache all over.”

Shi Shu had to sit down again and watch him sleep. He didn’t want to work, nor did he want to go out. Maybe he was crazy, but he just wanted to look at Xie Wuchi.

Shi Shu watched him for who knows how long. Xie Wuchi’s eyelashes moved. In an instant, Shi Shu wanted to turn his face away, but their gazes met.

Xie Wuchi: “You’ve been staring at me.”

Shi Shu was stubborn: “So what if I look? We even slept together last night.”

“Come here.”

“I’m cold—”

Xie Wuchi lifted the quilt. He wasn’t wearing anything. Shi Shu looked for only a second before getting into bed, letting the quilt cover his back.

Shi Shu curled up inside the quilt, hearing Xie Wuchi say, “Hands are cold too.” Then, Shi Shu was held entirely, his hands placed on Xie Wuchi’s abs, transferring heat bit by bit.

Shi Shu was held by a large hand clasping the back of his head, kissed on the ear, neck, then chin, kissed until he could hear his breath. Last night, his breath had been in his ears the whole time too.

Shi Shu let him hold and kiss him. A moment of tenderness, and then lunch arrived outside the door. Xie Wuchi’s intention to dine meant the end of their world for two; a pile of affairs and official business were moved into the tent.

Due to physical reasons, Shi Shu found it inconvenient to go out. He spent the whole afternoon in Xie Wuchi’s tent, watching him handle government affairs, receive officials, and make decisions.

“My Lord, as soon as the King of Zhouchi arrived last night, the eunuch issuing the decree, Eunuch Zhou, left Yanzhou overnight, riding off into the dust.” Lin Yan looked worried. “This subordinate guesses Eunuch Zhou is afraid my Lord has disloyal intentions and went back to impeach you to the Imperial Father-in-Law and His Majesty. This…”

Xie Wuchi: “The innocent have nothing to hide. This Commander will write to His Majesty to explain.” After speaking indifferently, he added, “Nowadays, among the armies at this border pass, who isn’t just looking out for their own sect? Civil officials only want to flatter, and military generals only want to recruit soldiers to preserve their strength. The border is inherently chaotic and needs heavy troops to suppress it. This Commander has his own ideas.”

Lin Yan was a smart man: “Yes, it’s just that this subordinate fears His Majesty’s blame and asks my Lord to consider it carefully.”

Shi Shu sat beside Xie Wuchi, lazily slouching, secretly playing with the sash of his official uniform, winding it around his fingers and unraveling it. Seeing him play, Xie Wuchi said nothing, continuing to read the booklet and talk to people.

Shi Shu naturally understood Lin Yan’s hint.

Thinking back, when Dasheng Prefecture, Chuituo Prefecture, and Yong’an Prefecture were occupied by the Min people, it caused so much suffering and tears for the remaining citizens. As the saying goes, not an inch of land can be ceded. The occupation of these three prefectures by the Min became almost an old wound for the Jing Dynasty. If the court wanted to win the hearts of the people, it had to raise the banner of reclaiming these three major prefectures and make a big issue out of it.

And now, of these three major prefectures, Dasheng Prefecture and Yong’an Prefecture had both been snatched back by Xie Wuchi.

The merit of reclaiming Dasheng Prefecture allowed him to be recalled to the court from his status as an exiled criminal, rising high in the government. Plus, he designed the poisoning of the previous Emperor to help the Heir Apparent ascend the throne, gaining heavy reliance. Zhao Shirui died after being impeached by Feng Chongshan, which of course involved Xie Wuchi’s handiwork. He logically inherited Zhao Shirui’s army to “train a new army,” and from then on, his career skyrocketed uncontrollably.

New Army—elite iron cavalry to resist the Min cavalry.

Within two years, he had established great merit in the Northern Army. In the battle of Yunzhou, the only border general family capable of balancing him, Feng Chongshan’s army of over a hundred thousand, was quickly depleted in three months of bloody attrition with the Min, leaving Xie Wuchi dominant with almost no rivals.

Normally at this time, the Emperor should be guarding against him. But he had divided the Min tribes, recovered the old territory, and established unparalleled merit, making his foundation even more stable.

Needless to say, the Emperor would definitely move against him now.

It just wasn’t known what method would be used.

Lin Yan said appropriately: “This subordinate has asked the literati of the Proclamation Bureau to record the Min King’s submission to my Lord in writing, compose a hundred poems of praise, post notices at the city gates to proclaim it to the people, and send it to the Eastern Capital to highlight my Lord’s hard work and high merit.”

Xie Wuchi smiled faintly: “Keep it simple; no need to over-publicize. Serving the country and people is my duty.”

No need to over-publicize meant: must over-publicize.

Decent, truly decent.

Shi Shu took a sip of water.

When Lin Yan left, Shi Shu asked, “Are you reborn? Why is this process so familiar?”

Xie Wuchi: “My father’s family was in politics. When I was young abroad, I really wanted to see him but didn’t. But I saw him on TV; he happened to visit the country I was in as part of an entourage.”

“…”

What is this stuff? Can’t understand.

Shi Shu: “What about your mom?”

“Mother’s family was in business.”

Xie Wuchi mentioned modern life very rarely. Shi Shu yawned: “No point asking more; going to stay here for this life anyway.”

However.

With Xie Wuchi’s professional public opinion control abilities trained in modern times, as expected, his enormous achievements would soon shake the entire Great Jing Dynasty, waking up the corrupt officials feigning sleep and deterring those with wolfish ambitions.

In the afternoon, Du Zihan came over once.

Hearing this, Shi Shu hurriedly poured a cup of tea and walked with difficulty outside the tent.

Du Zihan: “Little Schoolbag, are we still going to the Li family village today? We agreed to fix their roof today.”

Shi Shu took a sip of tea: “Can’t go, see? I’m drinking medicine. Accidentally caught a cold last night, not convenient to go out for the next few days.”

Du Zihan: “Why do you catch a cold every time Brother Xie comes back? And get better as soon as he leaves?”

Shi Shu: “…”

Du Zihan: “Logically speaking, with someone warming your bed in this dead of winter, shouldn’t it be harder to catch a cold?”

Shi Shu: “How about this, when you fall in love later, I’ll ask you every day too.”

Du Zihan: “…”

“Gone. Brother, take care.”

Shi Shu watched him walk away. The tea had gone cold. He returned to Xie Wuchi’s desk and put down the cup. Xie Wuchi was busy with city handover affairs, checking maps and registers daily, holding meetings, appointing officials, and rectifying new camps.

He was busy almost until late at night before having a moment of leisure. As the temperature dropped, Xie Wuchi’s usefulness became increasingly obvious.

Sleeping while holding him in winter was especially warm. And he didn’t wear clothes—warm and comfortable. Shi Shu shrank into his arms, then started snoring like a puppy.

Straight? Definitely not straight anymore. Just live with it.

Shi Shu slept with him for three days before receiving news that the Imperial Father-in-Law’s army had stopped at Xingu Prefecture and wasn’t coming to Yanzhou. Clearly, they were afraid that if Xie Wuchi really had rebellious intentions, they would be crushed to dust by the Northern Army’s iron cavalry.

Xingu Prefecture was Xie Wuchi’s territory, so they had to retreat another hundred-plus li to Linjiang Prefecture and camp there. Every day they wrote many urgent dispatches attacking Xie Wuchi, reporting to the Eastern Capital for impeachment—flakes of snow flying.

The Eastern Capital had long lost its color. The common people first heard the circulating poems about recovering the lost territory, then heard the Emperor’s edict and rumors: This Northern Army has wolfish ambitions.

At the same time, another part of the discourse was rising daily, saying Xie Wuchi was originally a lay monk at Xiangnan Temple, but visiting his hometown, the locals all said there was no such person. Could he be a god reincarnated, born in a Buddhist temple to protect the Great Jing’s mountains and rivers?

Tales of ghosts and gods spread most widely.

“There are also many remarks saying our Lord Xie has seven colors over his head and auspicious clouds under his feet, looking down on the mortal world with the posture of an immortal!”

Shi Shu only stuck to Xie Wuchi for three days before going to the farming settlement. After recovering Yong’an and Bu Prefectures, a large number of remaining citizens returned to their homeland. Exchanges back and forth made population movement increasingly frequent.

Cold wind blew through the air; the weather was getting colder. White mist puffed from Shi Shu’s mouth, his handsome face red from the cold. Returning to the main camp with Du Zihan, they encountered a merchant caravan from the Eastern Capital on the road, sitting and talking at a roadside tea stall.

Dressed as ordinary commoners, leading horses, donkeys, and mules, they were traveling peddlers wandering north and south. Watching this group resting and talking, discussing the current court situation, suddenly someone took a wooden tablet from their pocket and said triumphantly: “This is General Xie Wuchi’s living tablet. I specially went to Xiangnan Temple to request it. It has been consecrated to protect my family.”

Shi Shu was just passing by, but hearing this, he turned to look, scalp tingling. Before him was a black wooden tablet with vermilion writing. Shi Shu: “Living tablet? Isn’t this a memorial tablet for a dead person?”

“Hey,” the passerby was very unhappy, “this little brother doesn’t know. For dead people, it’s a memorial tablet; for the living, it’s a living tablet. Now over in the Eastern Capital, every household worships General Xie for blessings. It’s very popular!”

Shi Shu: “There are even living shrines? Shrines for living people?”

Du Zihan understood: “Holy crap, this stuff is very ominous. Who dares to set up a living shrine for an ordinary person? It shortens one’s life.”

That person looked increasingly displeased, arguing: “Ordinary flesh and blood naturally can’t have a living shrine—it would shorten life and cause early death! But when General Xie was at Xiangnan Temple, he was an enlightened high monk, a reincarnation of a Buddhist son. Why can’t he receive incense while alive?”

Shi Shu: “…”

A living person, receiving incense?

Shi Shu rubbed his frozen hands, looking at this living tablet: “At night, aren’t you afraid?”

At the same time, he thought: Why did Xie Wuchi go to a temple as soon as he transmigrated back then? Was he preparing for later from day one?

Shi Shu glanced at the wooden tablet again and left, the people behind still talking happily. Shi Shu returned to the main camp. Logically, Xie Wuchi should be busy with official duties, having banquets from time to time, returning only at night. Shi Shu was a bit hungry in the late afternoon and was preparing to eat by himself first.

Unexpectedly, crowds gathered at the camp gate. Xie Wuchi, wearing a crane cloak over bright light scale armor, walked upright and actually returned early, saying: “I have time today. Not staying in the military camp; going back to the city.”

Shi Shu’s eyes lit up: “Oh? Really?”

“Mn,” Xie Wuchi said. “Back at the residence, I’ll cook a few dishes for you.”

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