UCTOOT CH33

A crack of thunder echoed, and it sounded like a basin had rolled over outside the window.

“What was that sound?”

Shi Shu turned his head to look, but his chin was gripped by a calloused hand. A wave of heat flared up, forcibly turning his head back.

“Xie Wuci, I think there’s something outside the door!…”

Before he could finish, a hand full of possessiveness gripped his neck, and another kiss fell. The warm, wet lips captured his, pecking him like a small bird.

“!!!”

Shi Shu was stunned and pushed hard against his chest. “Xie Wuci, let go! Don’t touch me! Now is not the time for this!”

In fact, this should not be happening at all!

But being suddenly thrown onto the bed made Shi Shu’s head spin. He stared with wide eyes. Before him, Xie Wuci’s long hair fell, brushing against his earlobe. His vision was invaded. In the dark room, by the flickering candlelight, he could only see Xie Wuci’s magnified, sharp features, his parted lips, and a bead of sweat trickling down the tip of his nose.

Heat, so hot… it made Shi Shu dizzy. He pushed him. “Xie Wuci! You’re crazy!”

“Mwah…”

The hand on his neck slowly ground against him as another kiss landed. Xie Wuci was like a male ghost,趴ing on him and sucking his blood.

“Ahhh, stop kissing me! You madman, you big madman!”

Shi Shu felt dizzy and kicked at him desperately, the quilt tangling around them. But longer, stronger legs blocked his, locking firmly behind Shi Shu’s knees and rendering him immobile.

“Xie Wuci, what on earth are you doing? You’re burning up with fever, yet you still have the strength to kiss someone?”

Shi Shu’s hands were pinned down. He twisted his face away with all his might, and the kiss landed on his earlobe, which was then taken into his mouth and kissed relentlessly.

“Madman, madman! What’s so good about kissing!”

Just as Shi Shu was about to turn his head and bite him hard, Xie Wuci’s blood-red eyes turned to him. He seemed completely possessed, his eyes filled with red streaks, his dark brows furrowed tightly.

“Ahhh, I’m so angry!” Shi Shu no longer wanted to bite him.

Xie Wuci was reeking of sickness, soaked in sweat. The deep, cold pool-like color of the Buddha’s son was stirred into chaos, his eyes filled with the murky smell of someone terminally ill. The way his eyes were red, it was as if he were crying from the pain.

Shi Shu: “Don’t you cry, I’m about to cry, wuwuwuwu…”

I’ll be good, please let me go!

What else could he do when faced with a lunatic?

Endure it, endure it, endure it. Shi Shu desperately warned himself: “He’s a patient. Didn’t you not want him to die? What else can you do!”

Shi Shu bit his lip. “Xie Wuci, if you have the guts, kiss me to death! It’s not like I’ll lose a piece of flesh!”

Besides, this was ancient times. They had both transmigrated. Who would know that this handsome guy had actually been kissed by a man? No one would know!

Shi Shu’s handsome eyes widened in the darkness, hissing like a cat. The next second, Xie Wuci’s hot lips covered his.

“Mmph…” Shi Shu simply closed his eyes.

So hot, so hot. His whole body was enveloped by a furnace. Xie Wuci’s tongue slipped past his teeth, carrying the spicy taste of a medicinal pill. It licked his tongue wetly, lapping at it like drinking water. Although he did not want to recall it, this experience was different from the one in the prison. It was not as lustful, more like a wounded beast licking its wounds in a corner.

Shi Shu did not dare to move a muscle, his body stiff, staring straight at Xie Wuci’s furrowed, pale brow.

“Please, let your addiction pass quickly…” Shi Shu prayed in his heart.

He heard the sound of stealthy footsteps in the downpour again. It seemed there was someone outside the window, but Shi Shu was not sure if it was his imagination.

“Ngh… gurgle…” His tongue was being prodded, a slick sensation, like eating a very smooth piece of cake. Shi Shu really did not understand why humans had to make out like this. He struggled under the covers, while Xie Wuci leaned over him, propped up on the pillow, and kissed him.

Shi Shu thought, “Luckily, I don’t mind. If it were any other guy, after being kissed by you, their life would be over!”

“Xie Wuci, are you addicted to kissing, huh?!” Shi Shu stared at him during a gap for breath.

Xie Wuci did not speak. The next second, he captured his lips again, his wet tongue licking the roof of his mouth, sending a麻numbness down Shi Shu’s back. The words in his throat got tangled, and he gulped down some saliva. “Ah…”

So intimate, extremely intimate. Xie Wuci seemed to know his prey would no longer flee, like a lion in the grasslands dragging an antelope deep into the jungle, slowly and unhurriedly enjoying its prize.

Shi Shu’s mouth felt soft and weak, as if it no longer belonged to him. The wetness and slick heat ironed out the anger in his mind. He fell quiet for a moment, feeling the scraping, nuzzling motion of the tongue in his mouth, pushing and prodding.

So intimate.

An almost pathological intimacy.

It was as if Xie Wuci had never had this before, hence his intense craving.

“Ah ha…” Shi Shu’s fair face was flushed, his eyes moist. He watched as his tongue was gently bitten and dragged out from between his lips, tangling with Xie Wuci’s in the dim air. A silvery thread connected them as they licked and teased each other.

The fleshy red, so out of place in the dark room, intertwined. The vivid, sensual stimulation made Shi Shu’s mind go blank.

“Heavens, no one can ever know about this!”

“When he gets better, maybe I should grab some herbs and poison Xie Wuci mute…”

If anyone found out he had been kissing a man so disgustingly, Shi Shu’s life would be over!

Shi Shu sincerely prayed that Xie Wuci would have amnesia when he woke up. If not, he would have to induce physical amnesia. Shi Shu was even thinking about what kind of herbs to grab.

Finally, Xie Wuci’s figure leaned back. The faint light scattered from his eyelashes, and in the dimness, his nose and lips were tinged with a silvery sheen. He closed his eyes in the dark room, seemingly catching his breath.

He propped himself up with one hand, brushing back his hair, his legs straddling Shi Shu’s. His entire being exuded a predatory wildness and a sense of being in control.

Shi Shu said, “Bro, is your addiction over?! Did you get your fix? Can we be done now?”

Just as Shi Shu finished speaking, Xie Wuci fell back down, his lips once again insatiably kissing him.

Shi Shu: “………………”

But Xie Wuci had one good point: he only kissed, without any violent actions. There was tenderness in his kiss, but it was more like craving, a desire to devour. The person being kissed felt their mouth go soft, and their heart inexplicably softened too.

“…………I give up.”

Shi Shu simply grabbed the steamed bun, took a bite, and held it in his mouth. Xie Wuci leaned down, his lips pressing against his to take it, swallowing it bite by bite.

“Who’s the little fledgling? You’re the little fledgling.”

Shi Shu fed him bite by bite, and Xie Wuci ate it bite by bite. Perhaps because they had been kissing for too long, a thin layer of sweat beaded on Xie Wuci’s handsome forehead. Shi Shu could not help but wipe it for him. “Bro, what have you been through to become so mentally unstable?”

“Honestly, I can’t take you kissing me for so long either. You’d better explain this clearly when you wake up. I’m really going crazy. If this continues, I’m not staying with you. I’m leaving on my own.”

After finishing one steamed bun, he did not know how to feed him the congee. Shi Shu took a mouthful and held it. Xie Wuci blocked his lips, swirling his tongue in his mouth, slowly licking the plain white congee into his own.

So lewd. As he was being licked, Shi Shu’s eyes reflected Xie Wuci’s disheveled, handsome face. The heat spread in his mouth, tormenting Shi Shu’s soft tongue, again and again. Only their mouths were communicating with his body, a sensory stimulation that pushed carnal desire to its peak.

…

Was this not time travel? Had he transmigrated into a smut novel?

It was too intimate. The two of them, in a dark room on a rainy night, kissing insatiably, licking each other without any distance. Shi Shu closed his eyes, feeling truly insane.

However, Shi Shu still could not resist. As he took the second mouthful, a loud “clang” suddenly came from the door. Shi Shu froze, then violently rolled off the bed, staring at the thin, fragile door panel.

“—What was that noise?”

Weird, extremely weird! Shi Shu’s scalp instantly went numb, his adrenaline surging.

On a stormy night at the dyehouse, what could make such a loud noise other than ghosts? Shi Shu had heard rustling sounds earlier and thought it was rats, but the shaking silhouette through the door panel confirmed it was definitely a human.

Shi Shu blew out the candle, grabbed the wooden stick from behind the door, and stared intently at the door.

A moment later, the door was kicked open, and a man in black entered. Almost instantly, Shi Shu grabbed Xie Wuci, and they rolled together into the gap under the bed. Shi Shu pricked up his ears, listening for any movement, gripping the stick, ready to strike at any moment.

…He had heard what Zeng Xingxiu said this morning. This group of people were perhaps from Fengming Si, sent to Shuhong Prefecture to silence them.

Just as Shi Shu pushed Xie Wuci down, he did not expect that in the cramped space, he would lean over again and peck Shi Shu’s face. Shi Shu’s ears immediately burned. In the darkness, he used his eyes to say, “Can you be still? This is an emergency. In a moment, both of us will be dead.”

The footsteps moved into the room. Using the darkness of the rainy night, Shi Shu saw the person go straight for the bed and, with a “thwack!”, he brought the club down hard on the back of his head. He was fast; Shi Shu had played badminton. The person collapsed onto the bed as if dealt a fatal blow.

His palm trembled. Shi Shu said, “I’m sorry, but he’s not even well yet and you’re already here to wipe us out. I’m very angry right now!”

Being clubbed onto the bed, a normal person would have fainted or had their head split open. But this person actually struggled, slowly crawling up like a writhing worm, his viciousness exposed.

“You can still get up?!”

The opponent grabbed a dagger and swung it at Shi Shu.

—Silence.

The blade flashed with a silver light, reflecting the brilliance of the lightning. In Shi Shu’s fair face, in his pupils, the man’s ferocious face was reflected.

This was the first time someone had tried to kill him so openly. So cold and ruthless, as if slaughtering a cow or a sheep. Are human lives like those of cattle and sheep?

Shi Shu’s spine went rigid. The agility that sports had given him kicked in. His body ducked before his mind could even process it. When Shi Shu came to his senses, his arm was numb from the vibration of the chair. He heard the solid “crack” of wood hitting human bone.

Shi Shu stomped on the opponent’s hand, kicking the blade away. Then he helped Xie Wuci up and fled out the door without a second thought.

On a stormy night, this person likely had accomplices.

“Xie Wuci, someone wants to kill us, let’s go!”

Xie Wuci’s eyes opened from the sudden impact. The heavy rain poured down on both their heads, dripping from his raven-like long eyelashes to his well-defined jaw. It was impossible to tell if it was rain or sweat. Shi Shu was reminded of countless nights running in the rain.

He loved running; he could leave the world behind.

His dad made him run, and Shi Shu ran from the age of five or six to eighteen. He was naturally active. Running was like running continuously towards hope.

Their soaked clothes rubbed together. Shi Shu supported Xie Wuci’s weight with his shoulder. After bypassing several gates and pavilions, they saw a desolate courtyard with firewood stacked under the eaves. Shi Shu stepped on the moss-covered ground and suddenly crashed through a door with Xie Wuci.

The woodshed was quiet, with the squeaking of rats.

“Xie Wuci, sit here against the pillar for a while. The rain is too heavy, and you don’t have the strength to run far. The most dangerous place is often the safest. The city is also under lockdown. They don’t have many people, so they definitely won’t be able to search here.”

Shi Shu’s pupils constricted as he gasped for breath, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He helped Xie Wuci sit down, his own arms trembling violently.

Shi Shu muttered, “Was that Feng Lu? Does he want to kill us?”

Xie Wuci’s lips were pale, water droplets rolling down his jaw. “Let me tell you a horror story.”

“What?”

“Of those who come from above to investigate, many die an unnatural death. You want to find faults in others, but others don’t want you to find them.”

Shi Shu took a deep breath. “Are you lucid?”

“Alive.”

Shi Shu wiped the sweat from his forehead. He wanted to ask him about the long kiss just now, but after the life-or-death chase, the intimacy and the kiss felt like a lifetime ago.

Smelling the sun-baked scent of dry firewood, Shi Shu grabbed bundles of straw and laid them out. “Xie Wuci, you’re not well, so lie down first. The conditions here are poor, I can only make a simple bed.”

He helped Xie Wuci over, letting him lean against him. Shi Shu’s hands were ice-cold, while Xie Wuci’s body was alternating between cold and hot.

“This is too much, this is too much! I’m angry.” Shi Shu’s teeth chattered. “Xiangnan Temple just stole the monks’ money, what does that have to do with him? In Shuhong Prefecture, we clearly did a good deed. Why, when you’re this sick, do we still have to be hunted down! Does he hate you that much?”

Xie Wuci said, “It’s not about hate. We’re small fry. It’s a matter of him lifting a finger.”

Shi Shu and Xie Wuci pressed close together, not knowing how to get warm.

“So what do we do now? Do we find the advisors, or do we hide first?”

“It’s a dog-eat-dog world. Complaining is useless. It’s not convenient to appear publicly anymore. We’ll act in the shadows. It’s best to let them think we’re both dead.”

Swallowing hard, Shi Shu slowly suppressed his shock and fear, replacing them with calmness and composure. In the dark universe, he and Xie Wuci sat in this gloomy woodshed, surrounded by desolation.

“From now on, are we going to live in this woodshed?”

Shi Shu stared at the door, not daring to look away.

In the darkness, Xie Wuci’s face was extremely pale, like a malevolent ghost that had crawled up from hell.

“If they use power to crush people, I will repay them a hundredfold.”

Another wave of calm.

Shi Shu remembered something. “Is that child very important?”

“Yes.”

“You lie down first. I’ll go get him.” Before leaving, Shi Shu squeezed Xie Wuci’s hand. “Don’t be afraid. I will never leave you alone.”

The woodshed was filled with a musty, damp smell. Xie Wuci leaned against a pile of dry firewood, sitting quietly with his head tilted to the side. The high fever made it almost impossible for him to open his eyes. He sat holding his breath. A moment later, the woodshed door was gently kicked open.

Shi Shu came back, carrying a pot and bowl in one hand, and leading the child named Fuling with the other. “I’m back.”

Xie Wuci’s eyes were closed.

Shi Shu took out dry clothes from his bundle. “You were right. Feng Lu is determined to kill us. They’ve already searched Doctor Lin’s place, so it’s not convenient to show our faces now. This child is obedient. Maybe because I gave him an apple, he’s not afraid of me.”

In the quiet, Fuling looked around with wide eyes, sitting on a log.

Xie Wuci, with his eyes closed, said, “A knife. Do you have one?”

Shi Shu paused, then found one in his bundle and gave it to him.

Xie Wuci took it and once again cut open the acupoints on his hand. Shi Shu turned and covered Fuling’s eyes. “Don’t look.”

Fuling was obedient, but he could not speak. He had been scared into a stupor after witnessing the rebel army swarm into the city and massacre the dyehouse. When Shi Shu covered his eyes, his faint breaths could be felt on his palm.

Shi Shu gave the dry clothes to Xie Wuci. “I don’t dare light a lamp at night. Put on the dry clothes and sleep.”

Xie Wuci said, “Thank you for your trouble.”

As Shi Shu helped him change, his mind went back to the bed earlier, to the kiss he was pressed into. Shi Shu scratched his head and turned his face away. I’ll deal with you when you get better.

Xie Wuci lay down to sleep. Shi Shu let Fuling lean against him, and they slept like that. The next day, hearing the rooster crow, Shi Shu got up, found some firewood to set up a pot, and started brewing medicine for Xie Wuci. He also put the cooking pot on the fire.

“Luckily, Shuhong Prefecture is under control and no more people are being let in. Those few eunuchs probably won’t find us.”

Shi Shu also propped up the clothes on sticks, preparing to dry them by the fire.

While he was busy with all this, Fuling squatted beside him, watching the leaping flames.

Shi Shu had never been so tired. “The old, weak, sick, and disabled. Great, I’ve collected the whole set.”

“What should we do next?” Shi Shu closed his eyes, trying to clear his thoughts. “We’re being hunted by the eunuchs sent by Feng Lu, so we can’t appear publicly anymore. And Xie Wuci still needs to investigate the reason for the people’s rebellion.”

The cause was that the Transportation Commissioner, Yin Pu, had excessively enslaved the common people. A resident of Shuhong Prefecture had informed them that the dyehouse had two sets of account books. One was openly presented to the court, stating that the dyehouse was clean and all fabrics were supplied according to the court’s quotas.

The other set recorded the corrupt officials who colluded and ran rampant, excessively exploiting the dyehouse. It detailed how they secretly increased the production of imperial brocade meant for the palace and supplied it to other powerful ministers.

Secretly supplying other powerful ministers meant the dyehouse had to make extra offerings on top of fulfilling their quotas. This forced them to whip the common people and weaving women to work day and night, abusing them to death. The people’s grievances accumulated until they boiled over, leading to a rebellion where one call rallied many followers, striking a blow at the heart of the Great Jing court.

If they could use this reason to impeach Feng Lu, His Majesty would surely be shaken and his trust in Feng Lu would waver.

Therefore, finding the key evidence was extremely important.

Right now, Shi Shu looked at Fuling, who was playing with the fire. “The dyehouse was massacred overnight. You are the only survivor, but you are a five or six-year-old mute.”

“How tragic.”

“Tragic, so tragic.”

“Unspeakably tragic.”

It should not have been this tragic. Whether it was retrieving the army’s pay or resolving the miasma in Shuhong Prefecture, Xie Wuci had saved so many people. It was supposed to be a good thing…

Shi Shu shook his head, pushing away the useless thoughts, and asked Fuling, “What do you want to eat?”

Fuling: “Uh hehehehehe.”

“…”

Shi Shu turned to look at Xie Wuci. He had let out blood and was exuding a cold, stark aura. His jaw was pale in the morning light, outlining a clear and distinct profile. He was sitting cross-legged, sleeping quietly.

“…”

Shi Shu: “It’s not easy to be an emperor, either.”

Anything you want, you have to pay a price to possibly get it. Only through tempering can a true warrior be forged.

“Are we also being tempered?” Shi Shu walked to Xie Wuci’s side and sat down. “My parents said that no matter what happens, you have to look towards hope. Xie Wuci, after this illness, you will be stronger, and I will be more capable too.”

After convincing himself, Shi Shu reorganized his thoughts. He found a piece of cloth and tied Fuling to a log. “One sick, one disabled. I’ll go to the back kitchen and steal some food, lest you two die under my care.”

“…”

Shi Shu secretly left the woodshed. He went to the back kitchen and filled a bag with a lot of rice, flour, grain, and meat. As he filled it, he muttered apologies under his breath, then hunched over with the large bundle and returned to the secluded woodshed.

Fuling ran over and squatted beside him like a mushroom.

Shi Shu said, “I’ll stew a bitter melon and pork rib soup. It clears heat, detoxifies, and is nutritious.”

He busily stir-fried. Xie Wuci woke up from time to time and saw Shi Shu’s chaotic figure. After several hours, Shi Shu finally finished the stew, but he had not mastered the heat, causing all the bitter melon to dissolve into the soup.

Fuling took a sip: “Blegh—”

Shi Shu: “Is it that bad?”

He also took a sip: “Blegh.”

“I heard that when you have the miasma, your sense of taste is temporarily lost.” Shi Shu turned around with a bowl of bitter melon soup. “Xie Wuci, time to eat…”

Xie Wuci sat where he was, his eyes half-open. Today was the third day of his high fever. If he held on a little longer, he might overcome the illness.

Shi Shu went to him and knelt on the straw, leaning down. He reached out and turned his chin. Xie Wuci opened his eyes, which were filled with red streaks.

Two pairs of eyes met.

Shi Shu’s hand trembled as he once again remembered last night. The storm, the thunder and lightning, him being pressed onto the bed, and under the flickering lights, the scene of his lips and teeth being entangled.

Shi Shu: “Uh.”

Shi Shu scratched his head. “Are you lucid or not right now?”

Xie Wuci: “I’ve always been very lucid.”

“…………” Shi Shu was stunned for two seconds. “Um…”

Shi Shu’s brain stalled for several seconds. He was the type of person who believed that if someone liked you, they would definitely confess. Xie Wuci had never said he liked him, so he was definitely not gay and had no interest in him. In that case, last night must have been some strange quirk of his, or some kind of sex addiction flaring up, making him want to kiss someone.

Of course, Shi Shu was embarrassed, but now did not seem like the time to talk about romance. “Can you drink it yourself?”

Xie Wuci’s dark eyes, pressed under his eyebrows, watched him with a calm gaze.

Shi Shu said, “There’s a child here. We can’t do that.”

Xie Wuci: “If he weren’t here, could we?”

“………………”

Shi Shu: “Don’t you think it’s… weird?”

Xie Wuci lowered his eyes. “It is weird.”

“Drink.” Shi Shu brought the bowl to his lips. “When you get better, we’ll talk about this matter again.”

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