UCTOOT CH31

After transmigrating, Xie Wuci was his only good friend.

Shi Shu had not even reacted when, suddenly, their positions were reversed. His vision went dark as Xie Wuci pressed him down onto the bed.

“………………”

His gaze dark, Shi Shu retracted his claws. “What’s wrong! What are you doing?”

Xie Wuci’s fingers were calloused. As he tore at Shi Shu’s clothes, the rough force scraped his shoulder, making his skin sting with pain. Shi Shu let out an “Eh?” and reached out to push him away, shocked and unable to guess Xie Wuci’s intentions. His top was already ripped open.

“Xie Wuci, what are you doing tearing off my clothes—aren’t you sick? How do you still have so much strength?”

Breathing. Only the sound of their two gasps filled the air.

Xie Wuci stared at his neck. A wound on his finger reopened, and a cold drop of blood rolled onto Shi Shu’s skin, its touch warm. Shi Shu’s heart seemed to soften a bit. He did not speak, meeting Xie Wuci’s gaze under the lamplight.

With his clothes torn open, his upper body was smooth and fair. Below his slender collarbones was a pale chest, completely exposed to Xie Wuci’s sight. There seemed to be a desperate madness about him, a fight to the death.

Shi Shu panted, “Is there something on my body? What do you want to see? Why are you tearing off my clothes?”

A feverish fingertip brushed over his arm. A laugh rumbled from Xie Wuci’s throat. “A pockmark. You’ve had a vaccination. You’re safe.”

Shi Shu said, “A pockmark, you mean from a preventive shot?…”

Xie Wuci released his hand. “It’s better that I descend into this hell alone.”

It suddenly hit Shi Shu. “I’ll go get Doctor Lin—”

“I’ve already brought the medicine. The plague-warding sachet, the mugwort soup, it’s all on the table. I’ll have to trouble you to brew it for me.”

He was the one who was sick, yet he was calmer than Shi Shu. Shi Shu set up a stove under the eaves, boiled water, and brewed the herbal medicine. He then had someone bring a large tub for a medicinal bath from the infirmary. Lin Yangchun, hearing the news, came over and took Xie Wuci’s pulse. “The yang pulse is weak and floating, the yin is wiry and tight. He has indeed been infected with the miasma poison.”

Xie Wuci said flatly, “I started feeling unwell after coming back from the corpse pit.”

Lin Yangchun sighed. “Right. The officials who fear death have fled, while the one who stayed to drive out the plague god dies. ‘Murder and arson get you a golden belt, building bridges and roads leaves you without a corpse.’ Hahaha, this is fate.”

Lin Yangchun left the medicine and hurried away.

Late at night, Shi Shu boiled the mugwort medicinal sachet in the pot. After pouring all the water into the bathtub, he turned back and said, “The medicinal bath is ready, but the pot is a bit small, so I need to boil another one. Xie Wuci, you should take off all your clothes first—”

Shi Shu’s voice stopped. “Xie Wuci, what are you doing?”

His eyes widened abruptly.

Xie Wuci was sitting on a chair with a golden basin placed beneath his pale, slender hand. A blade was cutting at his fingertips and wrist, blood flowing into the basin. His eyes were half-closed, his lips pale as he breathed out.

Shi Shu asked, “Xie Wuci, you—you, Doctor Lin said that bloodletting from the wrist can treat the epidemic. But you’re cutting yourself… Does it hurt? Does it hurt?”

Xie Wuci asked, “What, does your heart ache for me?”

Shi Shu added more firewood, wanting to say something. “Did you cut too deep? There’s so much blood, can you stop it…”

Xie Wuci said, “Your voice is trembling. You can’t bear to look, so don’t look.”

“I really can’t bear to look… I feel awful, I’m so scared something will happen to you. If this were the modern world, would taking some medicine and getting a shot be enough? How are you feeling now?”

Xie Wuci squeezed the blood from his acupoints, drop by drop. His strength was draining away with the blood, his lips pale, his eyes pitch-black.

Shi Shu’s eyes grew hot. “Xie Wuci… I… I don’t know what to say. I’m so scared you’re in pain.”

“You’re like a little fledgling.”

Shi Shu’s eyes welled up several times, then dried in the wind. At his wit’s end, he waited until the sachet-infused soup was fully boiled and poured it all into the large bathtub. This was a method to expel damp heat from the body, effective against the miasma poison.

Shi Shu said, “The water is a bit hot. You get in and soak first. I’ll add more water if it gets cool.”

Xie Wuci wrapped his wrist and fingertips with gauze, raising his hand. Shi Shu went over. “Don’t move, don’t move, don’t move! You’re the patient, don’t move. I’ll help you take off your clothes. Don’t let the wound touch the water!”

“These clothes, the crane-feather cloak, the Confucian robe, the undergarments… wearing so many layers in this hot weather. Take them all off first. Don’t wear the underpants either. Doctor Lin said your whole body needs to be soaked in the medicinal water.”

Shi Shu’s mind was solely focused on safety. He did not notice that once the clothes were off, Xie Wuci’s tautly muscled chest, broad waist, and trim, powerful body were suddenly exposed to the air. His waist and abdomen clearly belonged to someone who exercised regularly—lean and fierce. Below the V-lines, there was not a trace of excess fat. With just a slight breath, the blocks of his well-defined abs became distinct.

Xie Wuci had once told Shi Shu that he exercised often in the modern world, swimming and even horse riding. People who kept active had very firm and beautiful muscles and physiques.

Shi Shu did not dare to look. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. For a moment, he marveled at how great his muscles were, but the thought quickly vanished. Shi Shu’s hands were on his waist. “I’ll help you take off your pants. The medicinal bath will take one or two hours. Once you’re in, the oral medicine will be ready too. I’ll let it cool down before giving it to you to drink.”

Xie Wuci asked, “Not afraid of men anymore?”

“It’s an emergency. I’m not afraid of anything.”

After taking off his pants, in the dim light, Shi Shu deliberately averted his gaze and did not clearly see between Xie Wuci’s legs, but he did catch a glimpse of the masculine body hair around his abdomen. Shi Shu helped him undress. “First, test if the water temperature is right. If it’s too hot, tell me, and I’ll add some warm water.”

Xie Wuci’s black hair was tied back with a ribbon, hanging down his back. He entered the tub while holding onto Shi Shu’s hand. His body was too eye-catching, so out of courtesy, Shi Shu kept his head turned away, looking elsewhere.

Xie Wuci suddenly said, “You don’t have to be so tense. I don’t mind people looking at my body.”

Shi Shu: “…”

“Perhaps I have other wounds on my body.”

Shi Shu had no choice but to turn his face to look at him, pretending to be very open and unconcerned. Intimacy was like that; sometimes, the more flustered you acted, the more it showed you cared. Acting indifferent could make things more natural.

Shi Shu casually let his gaze sweep over him. He quickly scanned up and down, his eyes still flying past the inside of his legs. “It doesn’t look like there are any wounds. Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Tell me.”

Xie Wuci said, “Heh, I’m not very comfortable anywhere.”

“It’s okay, the mortality rate of the miasma poison isn’t one hundred percent. I’ve seen survivors at the infirmary,” Shi Shu comforted him. “Don’t be scared.”

Xie Wuci asked, “You’ve said ‘don’t be scared’ so many times. Are you the one who’s scared, or am I?”

Shi Shu froze. “I’m scared.”

“I’m not scared, so you don’t have to be either. I don’t want to leave you behind and depart this world so soon.”

“…”

Xie Wuci sat on a slat inside the tub. “My upper body can’t soak in the water. Could you please trouble yourself to scoop some soup and pour it over me?”

“Mhm, mhm, brother, just sit tight. The soup might be a bit hot. Imperial Physician Lin said that using hot soup to stimulate the damp heat out of the body is better.”

He scooped up the brown mugwort soup with a gourd ladle and poured it down along Xie Wuci’s shoulders. The medicinal soup was quite hot, meant to stimulate the body’s internal heat. With one scoop, Xie Wuci seemed to be scalded by the pain. The tendons in his neck instantly stood out. He turned his head to the side, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he breathed. A thin layer of sweat beaded on his straight nose.

Shi Shu rarely looked at Xie Wuci from such a close distance. The liquid rolled down from his shoulders and collarbones. The night was dark, but Shi Shu could see his dark skin becoming even more intense.

Although Xie Wuci had a good figure and physique, he was a young master from a wealthy family, not someone who had been weathered by the sun and rain. His skin was thin. Scalded by the hot water, the blood vessels and blue veins swelled beneath his skin, winding in intricate patterns.

Shi Shu asked, “Is it hot?”

Xie Wuci replied, “It feels great.”

“…” Shi Shu was exasperated. “Bro, you really are… doesn’t it hurt?”

“Would you prefer to see me crying and wailing?”

Xie Wuci rested one hand on the edge of the tub, his fingers tapping as his eyes seemed to be in thought. “A brush with death is inevitable sooner or later. I just didn’t expect the accident to be today. I also hope I can pull through.”

A dark fire flickered in his eyes. “Actually, I’m also very nervous right now, feeling anxious.”

But for him, even when gambling with his life, excitement seemed to have the upper hand.

Shi Shu was truly speechless. Xie Wuci was not a weak person; he was practically a madman. Another scoop of hot water was poured down from his neck, on the left side. Shi Shu had to reach out and half-turn his face.

“Pouring on your left shoulder now.”

Xie Wuci’s eyes turned, dark and tranquil. Because he was sitting in the tub, his gaze was lower than Shi Shu’s, and he looked up at him. Droplets of water rolled down his neck, the brown liquid pooling in the hollows of his collarbones before trickling down his full, firm chest muscles, creating a glistening, beautiful sight. Those eyes, as black as a deep pool, met Shi Shu’s without wavering.

Xie Wuci.

You’re a bit too handsome.

His charm was even affecting him, a straight man. Shi Shu could guarantee that if any gay man were in his place right now, he would absolutely lose control, his legs would go weak, and he would want to be taken by him.

Fortunately, it did not have much effect on him, a die-hard straight man.

“Shi Shu,” Xie Wuci said.

“What is it?”

Xie Wuci’s voice was calm and hoarse, with a faint magnetic quality, like water flowing over mountain stones. He turned his head and stared at Shi Shu intently.

“Your gaze is so naked.”

Shi Shu’s hand trembled. “Ah?”

“I’m not wearing any clothes right now. The way you’re looking at me is making me feel so hot.”

…Bro, you’re such a flirt.

Shi Shu swallowed. “Ah? But I haven’t done anything to you?” he argued.

“Mmm, it’s just that I can’t take it much longer,” Xie Wuci said, lowering his eyes. “The water temperature is high, and a man’s skin is sensitive. Soaking in hot water can easily cause things to happen. If I have a physiological reaction in a moment, don’t be too surprised.”

“?”

“…”

Shi Shu asked, “Ah?”

No, wait, bro.

You’re surprisingly considerate, speaking so reasonably. What do you mean don’t be too surprised if something happens in a moment? But honestly, a guy’s ‘gun’ really is strange. When Shi Shu used to practice long-distance running, a classmate would occasionally get too excited and pop right up.

In the darkness, Shi Shu’s ears turned bright red. “It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine… I get it.”

The way Xie Wuci spoke was just too blush-inducing.

In the dim light, Shi Shu scooped water and poured it down his back, then added another half-bucket of hot water. When he got shy, Shi Shu tended to clam up. Coupled with his worry for him, Shi Shu’s mood was not particularly good.

Perhaps because he had said that, Shi Shu could not help but constantly pay attention to any movement in the water. He really could not resist.

Shi Shu asked, “Are you hard?”

Xie Wuci replied, “Mmm.”

Shi Shu said, “Uh, then I’ll go out. You can take care of it yourself.” After saying that, Shi Shu’s face turned beet red. After getting along with Xie Wuci, his inhibitions had lowered; it seemed he could say anything.

Xie Wuci said flatly, “Okay.”

“………………”

What a bizarre conversation.

Is this a conversation normal people have?

Would normal people have this kind of conversation? Shi Shu’s defenses were completely shattered.

He turned and walked out. The cool night wind blew on his feverish face. Although Xie Wuci was hard to describe, he was his best friend. Shi Shu was still worried about him, yet he could still say such things.

So strange. After meeting Xie Wuci, everything had become strange.

Shi Shu squatted under the eaves and pushed some more firewood into the stove.

The night wind was gentle. Shi Shu heard a rustling sound from inside the door. A very soft sigh, accompanied by the sound of a chair being dragged slightly. Shi Shu thought Xie Wuci was unwell and had just stood up to take a step inside when his mind started racing.

No.

Through the door, the male voice was extremely faint, a rustling that should not have been there. Even though Shi Shu had little experience, combined with what was just said, his speculation immediately changed.

A sexy, low sound, without any of the moderating influence of the opposite sex. Right now, Shuhong Prefecture was rife with heat and miasma. Shi Shu had only been helping people in the courtyard, he never expected to hear this kind of sound upon returning to take care of Xie Wuci.

Shi Shu’s mind exploded. What is Xie Wuci doing???

Not interested. Leave. The wealthy young master has his own ways of passing the time. Shi Shu turned to go, but his feet seemed to be rooted to the spot. The air was extremely quiet. Shi Shu felt like he had heard something he should not have, a great invasion of privacy. The sound made him feel that something was very wrong.

“…………………………”

Crazy. This whole world has gone crazy.

But the next moment, Shi Shu was sure it must have been his imagination.

By the time Shi Shu returned from the blankness in his mind, his feet had already carried him to the opposite side of the courtyard. He stared blankly at the white wall, his emotions in a whirl.

How hopeless. Xie Wuci being sick was already distressing enough, and on top of that, Xie Wuci was a person he could not understand.

Why? Why? Shi Shu squatted on the spot, pulling at the grass. After a while, a slight noise came from the doorway.

Shi Shu was numb. “Bro, that took a while.”

One of Xie Wuci’s hands was bleeding, the other was clutching a handkerchief. His tall figure was a silhouette in the darkness. Fine beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. His face was still weak, but his expression looked very calm. You could not really tell he had just relieved himself; he looked so prim and proper.

…What was his expression just now?

Shi Shu only thought about it for a second before immediately kicking away this shocking idea. When a person is embarrassed, they tend to act busy. “What are you doing? Isn’t it inconvenient? Let me help you.”

Xie Wuci said, “Washing my hands.”

“………………”

Shi Shu scooped up some warm water and rinsed the hand that was holding the handkerchief. The handkerchief was thrown to the ground, and the water flowed down between his fingers.

The warm water did not seem to be enough to clean it. Xie Wuci’s other hand was also stained with blood, so Shi Shu had no choice but to reach out and take Xie Wuci’s hand, deliberately scrubbing it hard to avoid any sensitive feelings.

Water flowed between their fingers. Shi Shu washed while falling apart internally. When he looked up, Xie Wuci’s dark eyes were watching him.

Shi Shu asked, “What’s wrong…? The medicinal bath is done, the medicine is drunk. You can go to sleep now.”

Xie Wuci did not answer, instead asking, “Am I important to you?”

“…?”

The night wind was slightly cool. Shi Shu was confused. “Why are you suddenly asking this? Important, of course you’re important.”

Xie Wuci lowered his eyes. “Do you find me disgusting?”

“…”

Shi Shu coughed violently, saying amidst the noise, “Respect, respect! I don’t understand, but I respect and wish you well. It’s the diversity between people that makes the world wonderful.”

Xie Wuci withdrew his gaze, his brows furrowed in thought again. Shi Shu prompted him, “What’s wrong?”

In the sky, a clap of thunder suddenly boomed, instantly lighting up the courtyard as bright as day, and a fierce wind rose.

Xie Wuci’s eyes were gloomy. “I have a fever.”

Xie Wuci’s fever came on fiercely. He went to the bed, lifted the covers, and lay down. The light cast shadows on his well-defined profile. He stared at the spotted wounds on his fingers and wrist, quietly preparing to endure the coming pain.

Shi Shu said, “So hot, so hot, so hot. What should I do?”

The miasma poison would cause fever and convulsions, with alternating chills and heat in the body. If the high temperature reached a certain point, it would damage the brain, causing delirium, chest pain, and internal bleeding. Many patients died bleeding from all seven orifices.

“I might have to sleep for a few days,” Xie Wuci said.

Shi Shu poured him some water and sat by the bed, watching him intently.

One of Xie Wuci’s hands hung outside the quilt—the same hand that had been cut with a knife to let out blood, now wrapped in gauze. This hand could shoulder heavy responsibilities, hold a sword, and had also held his neck and gently caressed his earlobe.

Unafraid of pain, unafraid of death, Xie Wuci’s willpower was unnervingly strong. When they first met, he was an extremely serene and transcendent monk, smart and caring. Now, Shi Shu sat with him in a dim hut in the infirmary, facing a single, dying lamp.

Shi Shu suddenly became curious about his tattoo. The only thing Xie Wuci had ever mentioned was the tattoo, but it was on his inner thigh, so it seemed it was not easy to see.

Lin Yangchun came in from outside, holding a bottle of medicine. “Finished with the medicinal bath? Place this pill in his mouth to hold. It will prevent the miasmic air from entering his lungs and viscera, and his mouth won’t have a bad taste.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

Shi Shu tipped out a pill and got up to place it by Xie Wuci’s lips.

Xie Wuci was sound asleep. Shi Shu muttered to himself, “Xie Wuci, be a little cooperative. The medicine Imperial Physician Lin gave you is life-saving. You’ll be fine once you take it.”

He pried open Xie Wuci’s mouth. The pad of his finger touched his burning lips, and it felt like an electric shock. Shi Shu suddenly remembered the feeling of Xie Wuci leaning in to kiss him in the prison cell that day.

Even now, it felt insane.

“Eat it… Why are your teeth clenched so tight? Chills, you have a fever?” Shi Shu only then noticed that Xie Wuci’s jaw was clenched tight, and he was trembling.

The body’s stress response was causing muscle tension, or perhaps it was a febrile convulsion.

“Xie Wuci… you’re a strong person, you’ll surely make it through, right? These past few days, because of you, the miasma in the city stopped spreading and so many fewer people died. The Buddha will protect you. How could he let you get sick?”

Shi Shu placed his hand on his forehead; it was so hot it made his heart pound with fear.

“I’ve never taken care of anyone before. This is my first time taking care of you. You have to be okay, don’t die in front of me.”

“Xie Wuci, be good and take the medicine?”

Shi Shu murmured, using his thumb and forefinger to pry at his jaw. Xie Wuci’s burning lips were massaged by him. He still looked like he was deep in sleep, refusing to wake up. Looking closely, the contours of his brows and eyes were exquisitely noble, as if he were born and raised in an exceptionally good family. Even his sleeping posture was refined and extremely elegant, yet also distant and aloof.

“I’m using force, I’m so afraid I’ll hurt you.”

Shi Shu’s forefinger slipped between his teeth. Finally, his finger pushed in, pressing against the soft flesh of his tongue—wet, hot, and slick with saliva.

“Ugh?” Shi Shu was so startled he almost pulled his hand out.

“…Why is a person’s mouth so soft.”

Shi Shu pushed the medicine in. As his forefinger slid out along his tongue, he did not expect that Xie Wuci, his face ashen, would suddenly shudder and clamp his jaw shut.

“Ah—it hurts, it hurts.”

A sharp pain shot to the base of his finger.

“It’s a good thing my finger was in the way. If you had bitten your tongue and drawn blood, then you’d really be in pain.”

Shi Shu pinched his chin, not wanting to leave a mark on that handsome face. He carefully pried open Xie Wuci’s jaw. When he removed his finger, it was bleeding from a large gash.

The blood smeared on Xie Wuci’s utterly pale lips.

“Xie Wuci, you’d better not die. You broke this finger, I’ll be waiting for you to compensate me.” Shi Shu wiped the blood from his lips with a handkerchief.

In the morning, Lin Yangchun came again and took his pulse. “Did he wake up last night?”

Shi Shu said, “He woke up once, said he wanted water. After drinking, he fell asleep again. He said he was cold and wanted the quilt, but he was sweating all over.”

Lin Yangchun said, “Those are the symptoms. The fever will last for six or seven days. If he can endure it, the illness will pass. If he can’t, after six or seven days, his internal organs will have been cooked through, and he will die bleeding from all seven orifices.”

Shi Shu did not speak, busy washing a handkerchief. “Understood.”

“These few days, you need to feed your young man something to eat and drink to preserve his strength; you also need to help him wipe down his body. Use whatever method you can to get him to eat something.” Lin Yangchun picked up his medical box. “His pulse is very strong. Perhaps he can hold on.”

Shi Shu had just let the medicine cool to a warm temperature and poured it into a bowl. “Okay.”

After the doctor left, Shi Shu returned to the side room.

This morning, the advisors and government officials had all come looking for Xie Wuci. It seemed they still had things to ask. Hearing that he had fallen ill, they all left with looks of helplessness.

Fortunately, the miasmic air in Shuhong City was indeed under control.

Shi Shu brought a basin of hot water and placed it on the wooden stand by the bed. He first wiped Xie Wuci’s face, then fed him the medicine.

A piece of gauze was on his forehead. His face, originally handsome and sharp-featured, now had a certain refined air of a scholar worked to death, due to its gloomy pallor.

“One night has already passed. At most, you only need to endure five more nights. Xie Wuci, the high fever period will be over, and you’ll get better.”

Shi Shu pressed the medicine bowl to his lips. Xie Wuci’s jaw was clenched tight, seemingly unwilling to drink. Shi Shu had no choice but to reach out again, using his forefinger to probe the gap between his lips, touching that soft, burning heat.

“Drink, take a sip.”

The moment the medicinal soup was poured into the seam of his lips, it immediately trickled out from the corner of his mouth.

This was the first time Shi Shu had seen such a vibrant, ambitious person lying there like a mannequin, completely immobile and helpless.

Shi Shu touched his forehead, then poured another mouthful of medicine. The medicine still flowed out from the gap between his lips.

Shi Shu had no choice but to use his fingers to pry open his jaw. In that instant, it felt very much like he was ravaging his lips and tongue as he slowly poured the medicinal soup inside.

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