UCTOOT CH62.2

The door was ajar. Xie Wuchi turned to the side. His hand was on the back of Shi Shu’s hand, his slender fingers, a mature wheat color covering a fair, snowy color. Shi Shu saw his exposed flat abdomen, and could vaguely see his pubic hair rising and falling. A sound reached his ears.

Shi Shu couldn’t help but look back. Separated by a door, if someone came in, they would see Shi Shu actually helping another person pee.

“Xie Wuchi, you—” Shi Shu ground his back teeth until they were sore.

Going too far.

Too much bullying.

The liquid dripped into the chamber pot. A moment later, Shi Shu finally heard the sound stop and quickly put the pot back under the kang. When he turned back, Xie Wuchi hadn’t pulled his pants up, but had them hanging low.

Xie Wuchi: “…Wipe it, it’s not clean.”

Shi Shu: “At a time like this, you’re still so particular?”

Shi Shu had no choice but to take a handkerchief and wipe the tip of the thing. It was clear he had been circumcised as a child; it was very aesthetically pleasing in its uncovered state. There was a slight amount of liquid at the tip.

Xie Wuchi’s hand held his, his thumb rubbing the back of Shi Shu’s hand. Shi Shu’s whole hand was trembling. He had completely touched its angles, outline, and size, and even its temperature. Because Xie Wuchi had a fever, every part of him was incredibly hot.

Quickly pulling his hand back, Shi Shu’s right hand was numb. He then wrung out a hot, wet cloth to wipe Xie Wuchi’s hands.

In the dim firelight, Xie Wuchi pulled up his pants. Having just shown himself, he closed his eyes for a moment, and a shadow instantly fell from his eyelids to the bottom of his eyes.

Shi Shu couldn’t help it. “Xie Wuchi, do you have an exhibitionist fetish?”

After saying that, Shi Shu turned and took the basin of water out. He only heard the voice from behind him as he reached the door. “I do.”

Messy, nonsensical. Shi Shu really had nothing to say and strode out the door.

The night grew deeper. On New Year’s Eve, they had to stay up. The group lit lamps and played cards and gambled at the inn. Shi Shu was not interested in these things. He just stood in the courtyard, kicking the snow on the ground with his foot.

Where he came from, it never snowed in winter.

Shi Shu was a little excited. He built a snowman by himself, built one of Xie Wuchi, and angrily used a branch on the lower part of the snowman. “Likes to stick your butt out, huh? Exhibitionist? I’ll make you stick it out. See how you like this look.”

Suddenly, he noticed someone was setting off firecrackers. A “crackling” sound was heard. Shi Shu quickly ran out. It was a few children on the street, setting off something called a “flower box,” which would make sounds and also emit colorful fireworks.

Shi Shu bought a few with silver and set them off in the courtyard. Mom, Dad, I miss you. Happy New Year. And that group of modern friends, the thought of them eating and drinking well was really painful. Finally, Shi Shu saved two for Xie Wuchi to play with.

Shi Shu took the flower box back into the room and said, “Xie Wuchi, look quickly!”

Xie Wuchi already had a splitting headache. Suddenly, he heard a “bang!”, and the firecracker exploded all over the floor. His mind also jerked, and he opened his eyes to look at Shi Shu.

Shi Shu: “Isn’t it beautiful? This one is blue, and there’s also a yellow one.”

Xie Wuchi: “It’s beautiful.”

Shi Shu set off the remaining few. Xie Wuchi’s eyelids twitched. Until the innkeeper was alarmed and ran in, asking, “Good heavens, what are you doing?”

Shi Shu quickly took a broom to clean up the debris in the room.

After messing around until late at night, Shi Shu finally felt sleepy. He got into bed and took off his clothes. The kang was warm and fiery. The future was uncertain, but the two of them could still rely on each other.

Unknowingly, Shi Shu and Xie Wuchi had known each other for almost a year, and were even about to pass this New Year together. At first, Shi Shu always felt he couldn’t see through him, but now, he didn’t seem to mind these things much.

Just as Shi Shu lay down, Xie Wuchi came over him. One hand grabbed his hair from the back of his head, and the other hand embraced his waist, stroking down from his ribs, roaming over his back.

This person… just as Shi Shu was thinking, a heat came over his lips.

When he first came to Xiangnan Temple, he had heard the story of Yuan Guan and Yuan He. The cousins, because of the Great Jing’s national policy, were forced to get into the same bed. Perhaps being boiled like a frog in warm water was like this. Sometimes it really wasn’t about love, maybe it was just forced by the larger environment.

Those brothers, what kind of desire intertwined them?

Shi Shu’s lips were kissed hot. Staring at the Xie Wuchi before him, what are we doing?

Did Xie Wuchi really keep me by his side at first just because I was handsome?

Shi Shu’s thoughts were scattered. He neither liked nor disliked Xie Wuchi’s intimacy. Because Xie Wuchi was handsome, his appearance made it not easy to feel disgusted during intimacy.

Du Zihan said that he had a companion who committed suicide before. Is this transmigration a two-person team? Or are there actually many more transmigrators, but some have died, and some haven’t been discovered yet?

If there really are many transmigrators, then his and Xie Wuchi’s uniqueness would no longer exist.

But compared to finding love in this world, Shi Shu would rather have this ambiguous relationship with Xie Wuchi.

Shi Shu said tentatively, “Bro.”

In the quilt, Xie Wuchi was burning with a high fever. One leg slid along the bed and squeezed between Shi Shu’s legs.

Shi Shu vaguely felt that Xie Wuchi was testing his other parts.

“Hmm?” Xie Wuchi kissed his ear. “Be good.”

“…………”

This person, when doing this kind of thing, gives very good emotional value, although Shi Shu didn’t feel anything.

This damn gay incubus, he gets uncomfortable if he doesn’t suck a man for a few days. Shi Shu could only expressionlessly play the role of the yang energy man haunted by a ghost. It’s fine, he has enough yang energy to be sucked.

If this goes on, maybe one day, they really will, like Yuan Guan and Yuan He, develop a real physical relationship. Shi Shu closed his eyes and thought for a moment, how do gay men do it? It seems they have to use…

Shi Shu’s eyes suddenly flew open.

The thing he saw when he helped him pee in the afternoon returned to his memory. If he went to the last step with Xie Wuchi, would he have to use his behind, to take such a thick thing completely inside?

“…………”

Shi Shu’s whole body began to feel cold. Holy shit, I’m not being gay!

Holy shit!

Shi Shu suddenly pushed Xie Wuchi. He had been kissing his earlobe. As cold sweat broke out, he heard Xie Wuchi’s hoarse voice: “Happy New Year, Xiao Shu.”

Xie Wuchi’s fever this time, Shi Shu took care of him without taking off his clothes for three days. After three days, the journey continued. Taiyin Prefecture was already within reach.

Shi Shu walked on the road, looking around. On this vast plain, generals would occasionally fly past on horseback, their hooves kicking up clouds of dust. Shi Shu watched their swift figures disappear into the distance and couldn’t help but make a sound. “So cool.”

Shi Shu ran up to a higher mountain peak and looked into the distance. A lone city amidst a thousand peaks.

On the plain, there were only some rustling wild grasses, forming circular meadows. From time to time, a few columns of troops would fly by, on urgent military business.

It was only then that Shi Shu remembered an important question. “This is the border. There’s no war, right?”

Xie Wuchi said, “It’s hard to say. The central line of the Great Jing’s border defense, I’ve told you before, twenty years ago, the Great Jing lost three routes and six prefectures, and even the dynasty’s place of origin, Dasheng Prefecture, was burned by the powerful Min. It was from that year that the court began to pay special attention to the northern border defense. Now, it seems the border dispute is about to start again.”

Shi Shu realized, “The court has been making a fuss about military funds several times. Could it be a war on the border?”

“Yes. Originally, the ‘Cha River Agreement’ was signed, agreeing not to invade each other again. But in these years, the Great Min’s army has often crossed the border to harass. The year before last, there was a serious exchange of fire and conflict. In the Longmen Gou area, the military generals of both sides encountered each other and a battle broke out, with thousands of casualties. The Great Min has a vague tendency to harass and invade again. The border is very unsafe.”

Shi Shu: “No, war is such an important thing, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

There’s a crisis at every turn, isn’t there?

Shi Shu couldn’t help but ask, “Who is stronger?”

Xie Wuchi: “Ask them.”

Xu Erlang scratched his neck, his face ugly. “The dynasty’s place of origin was plundered. You tell me who’s stronger. The Min, that dog race, damn it, they were originally just a dog raised by the Great Jing. It’s just that the previous military governor was too lenient and appeased them, letting them grow powerful. No one expected it at the beginning. That Yuan Ge’er started an uprising and organized an army, and in a few years, he conquered these three routes and six prefectures. Useless things.”

Shi Shu: “Okay, that’s great.”

It sounded like this foreign race, the Great Min, could single-handedly pierce through the walls of the Great Jing.

He didn’t even know if he could outrun them if a real fight broke out.

Xu Erlang saw Shi Shu’s expression and quickly comforted him. “Don’t worry, don’t worry! There’s no war. The Cha River Agreement is still in effect. How could these people break the treaty so easily? If a war broke out, millions would die. What’s more, our Military Governor Feng is still guarding the border. The Great Min is wary of his power and doesn’t dare to use troops easily.”

Shi Shu pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking that he had really transmigrated to the right place.

A deluge of cold water, just like that.

Shi Shu stared at the vast snowy landscape before him, suddenly feeling like he might die tomorrow. They walked for a long time, and around the afternoon, they came to a winding river.

Because it was deep winter, the river was frozen solid. He could see that under the mountain, the riverbank was full of wild grass, miscellaneous trees, and steep mountains and rivers.

Shi Shu asked, “There’s still a river here?”

Xu Erlang said, “This is the Cha River.”

Shi Shu: “Huh?”

Xie Wuchi: “The Cha River of the ‘Cha River Agreement’.”

Across the riverbank, which was about several dozen meters wide, Xu Erlang pointed to the other side. “Over there, that’s the Great Min’s territory.”

Shi Shu turned his head and stared at him. “You’re saying, just across these few dozen meters, is the foreign race’s territory.”

“Yes.”

A muscle twitched in Shi Shu’s face. He could see from afar the Great Min’s watchtower, with soldiers holding bows and arrows and wearing felt hats standing on it, their sharp eyes shooting across the river.

Shi Shu really wanted to laugh. “You want someone to die, and you have to throw in an exile of three thousand li.”

Shi Shu was sweating profusely. He turned to look at Xie Wuchi. “It only said exile, not to join the army on the front line, right?”

Xie Wuchi’s hand touched Shi Shu’s hair. “Don’t be afraid.”

Shi Shu could only pray that these people would abide by the agreement and have some morality.

Further on, it slowly got to be evening. They seemed to have reached a vast sandy area. The river was finally out of sight, probably blocked by the mountains.

Just as Shi Shu breathed a sigh of relief and looked around, he suddenly heard a shrill scream, mixed with the sound of horse hooves trampling the ground.

“Ah—ah!!!”

“Ah!! Help! Ahhhhhhh—”

Not just Shi Shu, even Xie Wuchi frowned. Xu Erlang and the bailiffs’ faces changed dramatically. The guards sent from the court, who had walked all this way, finally shouted, “Take cover!”

“Form ranks!”

“Draw your weapons!”

As Shi Shu was surprised, Xie Wuchi said, “Unlock my travel cangue.”

Xu Erlang quickly unlocked his shackles. Before Shi Shu could understand what was happening, his gaze went over the rolling hills and saw a few small figures running wildly from the direction of the Cha River.

These figures, at first like ants, were then discovered to be people running wildly, carrying bundles, screaming as they ran. “Help! Help!”

There was no one on the vast wilderness. The few people didn’t know where to run. Finally, they saw this group of people and ran wildly towards Shi Shu and Xie Wuchi.

Shi Shu: “Who are they?”

At first, Shi Shu thought they were able-bodied men, until he discovered women and children among them.

Xu Erlang said, “It’s over. These are people who have smuggled themselves across the Cha River!”

“Smuggled?”

Xie Wuchi: “Chuituo Prefecture, Dasheng Prefecture, Yong’an Prefecture, these three prefectures have all fallen and been trampled by the hooves of the foreign race. The people of the Great Min have classified the people of the Great Jing as the lowest ‘despicable bones,’ to be slaughtered and enslaved at will. The refugees’ tears have run dry. No one doesn’t want to return to the Great Jing, so every day there are people who try to smuggle themselves across the Cha River, to return to the territory of the Great Jing.”

Shi Shu turned his head and stared at him.

“Obviously, this group of people, while smuggling, were discovered by the soldiers on the Great Min’s border and are being hunted down.”

Sure enough, as soon as Xie Wuchi finished speaking, Shi Shu saw several columns of fine horses sweeping down from the mountain ridge. These were truly tall horses, ridden by imposing soldiers. But this group was not the generals of the Great Jing, but of the Great Min. They took out bows and arrows from their backs and, while galloping wildly, shot arrows from behind, trying to kill this group of people.

Xie Wuchi said, “The Great Min has always hunted down and killed those who try to escape.”

Shi Shu said frantically, “They’ve crossed the border! They’ve run over to our side!”

Xie Wuchi: “Crossing the border is a very normal thing.”

Behind them, a eunuch let out a sharp screech. “Why are they running towards us? Don’t come over! If you run into our midst, we’ll all be killed!”

“Quick, quick! Shoot these people with arrows, don’t let them come over!”

Shi Shu turned his head and realized he was saying to shoot arrows at these refugees from the occupied territories.

The smuggled refugees finally saw people and ran wildly, shouting for help.

“Save me! We are the people of the Great Jing!”

“Swish, swish, swish!”

Several arrows flew out. The commoner running at the front was hit in the leg by an arrow and fell to his knees, looking over with surprised eyes.

Then, this group of refugees seemed to have been hit by something. They stood on the spot, not knowing whether to go forward. And behind them, the iron cavalry of the Great Min came like a wild wind. Many bodies fell to the ground, and those people drew scimitars from their backs and hacked at the people’s backs.

Shi Shu opened his mouth, his voice stuck in his throat, a hoarse, “Don’t!”

Xie Wuchi spoke out. “Give me the bow and arrow! Are you out of your minds? To actually shoot arrows at the common people! Shoot at the people of the Great Min!”

Startled by his angry shout, this group of guards from the palace finally came to their senses. Most of them had never experienced war; they were just guards in the peaceful Eastern Capital’s imperial palace. Hearing this, they quickly shot arrows at the horses.

Xie Wuchi snatched one of the bows. Shi Shu and the bailiffs huddled together. Shi Shu was somewhat stunned. He watched with his own eyes as Xie Wuchi drew the bow.

A pair of eagle eyes looked straight ahead. Then, he let go.

The arrowhead was silvery bright, the feathers spinning. It shot straight through the air, and then, a soldier on a horse suddenly fell off.

Shi Shu started to run forward to meet that group of people. He didn’t understand the reason, but his legs were already running forward. Arrows rained down from behind. It was the first time Shi Shu felt so close to death. Long ago, when he tried to commit suicide by jumping into the river, he had never felt this way.

He ran forward, and the guards behind him were also running forward. People on the horses fell one by one. Shi Shu didn’t know whose arrows these were. When the wildly galloping horse swept past, a heavy corpse fell to the ground.

Shi Shu looked down. There was a bloody hole in this person’s throat. The arrowhead was deeply embedded in his throat, shot straight through.

Shi Shu turned around. In the wild wind, Xie Wuchi held the bow and arrow, his dark hair fluttering in the wind. The arrow was aimed directly at Shi Shu, the sharp, silvery tip centered on his pupil.

Then, it shifted slightly and shot behind him.

A gust of wind swept past his ear. Shi Shu turned his face. The soldiers of the Great Min fell to the ground in disarray. The remaining few horses let out a loud “Whoa—!”, reined in, and galloped back.

“Ahhhhh! Help! Thank you, masters, for saving our lives!”

“Ahhhhh, wuwuwu, ahhhhh…”

The refugees’ cries were exceptionally clear. Shi Shu stood for a good while, still feeling a sense of disconnect from this world. It was a strange feeling. He seemed to be a spectator, and everything that had just happened was like a movie being shown.

Xu Erlang’s legs went soft with fear, and he knelt on the ground. “Good heavens.”

Several eunuchs had lost control of their bladders from fear and were huddled together.

Xie Wuchi lowered the bow and arrow, his face showing no emotion. He walked to Shi Shu’s side. “Next time, don’t run so fast. Ask me first.”

Shi Shu: “Okay.”

He stood beside Shi Shu, also looking at the person whose throat he had pierced with an arrow. The person’s hand was tightly gripping a scimitar, its blade stained with blood. Not far away, a few commoners lay on the ground, blood flowing like a river, as if they were asleep.

Shi Shu still didn’t quite understand what had happened in that instant.

Xie Wuchi stared at the corpse before him. A moment later, he reached out, placed a foot on the person’s chest, and slowly pulled the arrowhead out.

“Tch—” Arterial blood splattered onto his jaw.

“Oh, I killed someone.” Xie Wuchi raised his hand, slowly wiping away the warm blood, seeming to feel its temperature, his expression one of distant contemplation.

Shi Shu met his gaze, his throat tight, unable to speak.

In this eerie atmosphere, from not far away, another column of cavalry flew over on horseback, at least a dozen fine horses. Just as Shi Shu’s heart began to pound faster, Xie Wuchi said, “It’s the Great Jing’s cavalry.”

The cavalry stopped in front of this group of standing people. The strong, fierce wind almost hit his nose, blowing away the hair on Shi Shu’s forehead.

A young general jumped off a horse, looked at the mess on the ground, and cursed, “The Min dogs have scurried over again. Can’t the dog bastards control where they piss and mark their territory? Bastards, running over here every day. Oh, I forgot, their parents are over here.”

Then, he saw the refugees. “Move the bodies. Commoners, follow me.”

Finally, he turned his gaze to this group of bailiffs, eunuchs, guards, and the prisoner. “Who are you?”

Shi Shu still couldn’t speak. He found that his legs had gone soft.

They were shaking.

Shi Shu’s lips just twitched, and he bit his lip.

Xie Wuchi’s icy gaze turned to him. “Don’t you dare cry.”

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