UCTOOT CH28

The thick black fog blurred his vision. It seemed very close, yet also very far. He couldn’t see what the blackness was. Shi Shu seemed to be held down by a hand, the wrist powerful. When he looked up, what he saw was Xie Wuchi’s clear and distinct jawline.

That gaze was as arrogant as if looking at a dog.

Strange, yet familiar. He couldn’t see clearly, not only the pattern, but Shi Shu was trembling all over. He stiffened his neck in resistance, but was forcibly pressed onto that tattoo by a pair of hands—

No, no, no, that’s a man’s—

“Ah!!”

Shi Shu’s body trembled with a sudden sense of weightlessness. He snapped his eyes open, his back covered in a sticky cold sweat. The muscles all over his body were tense, and there was something cold and damp between his legs.

“…………”

Under the dim moonlight, Shi Shu’s handsome eyebrows darkened. He slowly turned his head to look at Xie Wuchi. With a very upright and capable posture, he was leaning against the incense table, his long legs folded, one hand resting on his knee. Under his eyes was a moonlit grayish-blue. His tall figure was in a calm and refined sleeping position.

Shi Shu thought to himself: This is really the end! It’s over. Xie Wuchi is sleeping soundly, but I had a dream about him…

Shi Shu tiptoed up, carrying his pants, and walked to the well. He wrung out a cloth and washed his pants and legs.

His mind was in a mess, trying desperately to sort out his thoughts. He had to admit that Xie Wuchi was an extremely sexually attractive man—tall with long legs, handsome and imposing. Besides his significant physical advantages, he had a strong will, was ambitious, and had amazing execution. In the posture of a victor among humans, he must be very popular with the opposite sex for reproductive needs.

Handsome men and beautiful women, who doesn’t like them?

Shi Shu’s heart turned cold: “But what does that have to do with me! According to instinct, I shouldn’t be attracted to Xie Wuchi. How could I have such a dream? It’s so scary. Is it because I’ve been alone with him for too long, plus some of Xie Wuchi’s inexplicable remarks.”

Absurd! Absolutely absurd!

It must be because he had been talking almost exclusively to Xie Wuchi these past few days that he would have such a strange dream about him.

Shi Shu desperately scrubbed his pants. When he turned around, Xie Wuchi was standing under the eaves: “What are you doing?”

Shi Shu: “…I just sat on the ground and got a big patch of dust on my pants. I’m washing them to dry so I can wear them tomorrow.”

Xie Wuchi: “Do you need me to keep you company?”

Shi Shu: “No, no, no, you just sleep there. Don’t come near me. I’ll wash my pants quickly…”

Xie Wuchi’s gaze rested on him, watching for a moment, making Shi Shu’s scalp tingle: “What are you looking at me for? Is there something on my face?”

“There’s nothing, but you’re being abnormal.”

Shi Shu, though not in the right, was still bold: “An abnormal person sees everyone as abnormal.”

Xie Wuchi: “You’re scrubbing your underwear in the middle of the night. Did you wet the bed?”

“…………….”

Damn Xie Wuchi, he actually suspects I wet the bed, not that I did something bad.

It’s clear my straight reputation precedes me, yet I had such a dream.

In the darkness, Shi Shu’s entire ear turned red, though it was hard to see. He just focused on scrubbing.

Xie Wuchi returned to the incense table. Shi Shu finished washing his clothes and hung them up. The whole day felt strange. He felt he had to keep some distance from Xie Wuchi. In the afternoon, they encountered two dogs in the wilderness, their butts facing each other. Shi Shu frowned and turned his face away.

“In broad daylight, why can’t living creatures get rid of love and affection?”

He turned, and it was Xie Wuchi. Shi Shu turned away even more sullenly.

Xie Wuchi’s eyes were as deep as water: “What?”

Shi Shu: “It has nothing to do with you. It’s a personal matter.”

Xie Wuchi: “You’ve been preoccupied all day, your mood is off, and you were washing your underwear last night… Did you have a wet dream?”

“!!!!!!” Shi Shu was startled. “What are you talking about?”

Xie Wuchi’s tone rose, “Who did you dream of?”

“…I really don’t want to talk to you anymore!”

Xie Wuchi, talking to you is full of vulnerabilities!

The young man kept his head down and ran forward. Green mountains and clear waters, surrounded by ranges. Coming down from the narrow mountain slope, before him was a crisscrossing network of waterways. The fields were densely covered with waterways, and from time to time, people would pass by in boats.

Shukang Prefecture was located on the shore of the Great Jing’s largest lake, AnYang Lake. The terrain was surrounded by mountains and rivers. The vast flat land was crisscrossed by streams, supporting both agriculture and fishery, as well as forestry in the mountains and marshes. It was currently the blooming season of the Yining flower. The road was lined with fiery red flowers, brilliant and endless, like a fire burning to the clouds.

Shi Shu ran down from the mountaintop and happened to run into a line of guards. They seemed to be searching for something and immediately stopped him.

“Who are you!”

“From the Heir Apparent’s residence in the Eastern Capital, on an errand.” Xie Wuchi followed.

He showed them the document, and only then did they nod. “Alright, get going! The arrests have been strict lately. Don’t wander around.”

After speaking, the group of guards, clad in iron armor and with long sabers at their waists, hurriedly entered the village to search, seemingly looking for someone.

Shi Shu was interrupted and stopped in his tracks. An old man leading an ox passed by and sighed, “Don’t mind them. The times are chaotic. The officials are rounding up laborers. That’s how it is. You two should go about your business. Go quickly.”

“Rounding up laborers…?”

Shi Shu saw that he was almost seventy or eighty years old, yet still carrying a plow. He asked casually, “Grandpa, you’re so old, and you’re still farming? Why don’t you let your sons and grandsons do it?”

Shi Shu was sunny and cheerful. The old man was friendly: “There’s no other way. We just suffered a military disaster. The younger ones either died or were conscripted. The fields will go to waste if they’re not tilled.”

Shi Shu: “Military disaster, is it the rebellion on the Huainan Road this time?”

The old man said, “Yes. It’s a long story. You just came down from the mountain. Did you see the Yining flowers?”

Shi Shu became curious: “I saw them, they’re all over the mountains.”

“That’s right. These flowers didn’t exist before,” the old man started talking. “Decades ago, people brought them from a foreign land. Originally, we all called it the ‘Crying Death Tree.’ The fruit looks red and very sweet, but if you eat one, you’ll immediately burst into tears. It contains a deadly poison. Originally, we never paid much attention to this tree. But ten years ago, that eunuch Yin Pu came to Shukang Prefecture as a transport commissioner. He actually discovered that the flower and fruit of the Crying Death Tree had an extremely beautiful color and could be used to dye cloth. The cloth dyed was bright and vibrant. The big shots in the palace couldn’t get enough of it!”

“Anzhou has always been poor. The rivers outside the city connect to the mountains and marshes, all filled with mounds of earth. It’s precisely because this Yining flower likes water that it can only be grown in Anzhou. So, the once-poor Anzhou relied on this Yining flower to weave cloth for tribute and sale, and we all found a way to live.”

Shi Shu listened to him say, “And then? How did a good thing turn into a bad thing?”

“Sigh, they stopped letting us farm and made us all plant trees. This eunuch thought the river’s transport capacity was insufficient. Every time grain and cloth had to be sent to Shukang Prefecture before being transported to the Eastern Capital, some people would take a cut. So he came up with an idea to reclaim the Bailu River in Anzhou, digging a channel to the Yangtze River that flows to the Eastern Capital for direct transport!”

“As a result, they’ve been digging for five or six years, conscripting laborers everywhere, causing every household in Anzhou to be broken and ruined. The men dig the river channel, and the women plant Yining flowers, weave, and dye cloth. They’re not allowed to meet. If they don’t do it, they can’t get food. They’re beaten and scolded day and night. How could they not rebel?!”

Ripples stirred in Shi Shu’s heart: “Treating people like livestock… it’s actually like this.”

“Now it’s great. All the people of Anzhou are dead! Those eunuchs were also swarmed by the rebels, cut into a thousand pieces, and their flesh eaten and blood drunk. Now it’s just us old and young ones left. Forget it, I won’t say more. If I don’t go to the fields soon, they’ll all be barren.”

The old man led his ox, shaking his head, and slowly walked into the paddy field.

“The fruit of the Yining flower makes you cry as soon as you touch it. Such an ominous tree really did lead to bad things.”

“…”

Shi Shu and Xie Wuchi walked on the main road beside the gurgling stream. The rice straw in the paddy fields on both sides was green, and from time to time, they could hear the chirping of cicadas and the croaking of frogs.

Xie Wuchi held the donkey’s halter with one hand: “Dredging the Bailu River and shortening the distance has both economic and military benefits. This was actually a good decision.”

Shi Shu was puzzled: “Then why did a good decision lead to a bad result?”

Xie Wuchi: “It’s like the construction of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal. It directly affected the shift of the economic center from the north to the south and is also a precious cultural heritage of mankind. But the Sui Dynasty also fell because of the construction of the canal, as the conscription of civilian labor was too excessive, and the people could not make a living.”

Shi Shu: “So tragic?”

“Being smart is one thing, execution is another. People’s hearts are made of flesh. Anyone who works until they’re tired will curse. They’ll get angry if they’re not given food, and they’ll be sad and hurt if they’re humiliated and bullied. When pain accumulates to a certain point, they’ll go crazy. This group of laborers probably just couldn’t bear it anymore and exploded.”

Shi Shu: “I understand! If I had to dig a river for six years, I’d want to kill people too.”

The two walked for a while. Before dark, they would be able to reach the gates of Shukang Prefecture.

Xie Wuchi turned his head, seeming very concerned: “You haven’t answered the question I asked you just now. Who did you dream of last night?”

Shi Shu: “…I didn’t dream.”

Xie Wuchi’s voice was faint: “Is that so?”

This immediately made Shi Shu’s heart flutter up and down again.

It was getting dark, and there were few people on the road. But as they walked forward, a few scattered common people appeared ahead. Rather than common people, they were more like disaster victims, looking as if they had nothing. They were waiting for the gruel and rice distributed by the prefecture. After eating, they dispersed. Some went home, others wandered aimlessly.

On the main thoroughfare, official soldiers were on patrol: “Go after you’ve received your porridge, go after you’ve received your porridge! Don’t fight, don’t cause trouble! Everyone who comes will get some!”

Outside the gates of Shukang Prefecture, there was no prosperity or liveliness, only disaster victims left homeless after the battle. The young were taken away to continue digging the canal. The women, elderly, and children had set up wooden sheds outside the city gates, sleeping like this while waiting for relief.

Their grain had been plundered, their houses and property burned by the fires of war. The survivors would take many years to heal their wounds.

“Who are you?”

“The official document is here. We’re entering the city on business.”

Shi Shu and Xie Wuchi entered the city before dark.

As Shi Shu was about to enter, the gatekeeper said, “Once you’re in, you can’t get out for now. It’s only entry, no exit recently.”

Shi Shu: “Why?”

The gatekeeper: “On the way here, haven’t you seen?”

Shi Shu was puzzled. Xie Wuchi led him and the donkey through the gate.

The city was desolate. Very few shops were open. Every household had their doors open, with a brazier in front, burning yellow paper. Endless sounds of crying filled their ears, and the ground was littered with snow-white paper money. Perhaps it was because of the evening, but it was even more desolate in the gloomy weather. The smoke rising from the paper money was like a haze, shrouding the city.

Shukang Prefecture city, now, was a half-dead city. Many corpses were left at the doorways, covered with a white cloth.

“—A ghost city.”

Shi Shu looked around as he walked, holding his hand through his sleeve.

Xie Wuchi didn’t say “don’t be afraid,” but that was exactly what he meant.

“Let’s go to the ministry office first and have them arrange accommodation,” Xie Wuchi said. “We’ve been on the road for so long, it’s time to rest well.”

Shi Shu lowered his head and noticed this hand. Previously, when Xie Wuchi held his hand, it didn’t seem very strange. But now he couldn’t help but keep noticing it.

What’s going on… his hand is so hot. Why is it a whole size bigger than mine?

Shi Shu was perplexed and tried to distract himself: “Xie Wuchi, why are some houses’ doors tightly closed and have white cloth inserted?”

Xie Wuchi was quiet for a while: “I’m afraid there’s a plague.”

“A plague?”

The smoke was too thick. Shi Shu found it very pungent and covered his nose with his hand. His eyes were about to tear up from the smoke, and his throat was raw.

“Cough…”

Beside him, Xie Wuchi, perhaps also severely affected by the smoke, lowered his voice and actually coughed twice.

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