UCTOOT CH65

Shi Shu repeated, “Just threw something on.”

Xie Wuchi: “Even in times of disappointment, there’s no need to live a miserable life.”

Shi Shu: “That’s true. It’s your aesthetic. Anyway, I’m leaving.”

“Don’t go,” Xie Wuchi said. “Stay with me.”

“…………”

Dressed like that, he definitely won’t let me go easily. On the surface, Shi Shu was calm, but his feet paced back and forth. “I’m a little sleepy. You probably don’t have anything to do? What would I be staying for?”

“To talk.”

It was really like a lustful ghost disguised as a beautiful widow, standing at the door beckoning, “Come, stay with me~”

Shi Shu: “I actually think I…”

I what? Shi Shu rarely had moments where he stammered and couldn’t speak. His mind raced, searching for an excuse, but the figure behind him had already closed in. His wrist was grabbed, hot and powerful.

Shi Shu’s mind went numb. He was suddenly reminded of the three-thousand-mile exile, of the physical closeness with Xie Wuchi. In the snowy weather, his body temperature had dropped, and their contact back then hadn’t felt as uncomfortable as it did now.

Xie Wuchi: “This robe doesn’t seem to fit well.”

Shi Shu looked Xie Wuchi up and down. Male fox, male fox. Not only did it fit perfectly, but the fabric was embroidered with translucent, silvery-white silk flowers, giving him a very ascetic and cold look. Especially when one considered what kind of sex demon was under that skin, it became even more ingenious.

Shi Shu, the straight man, stammered, “It fits… fine.”

Xie Wuchi: “Sleep with me.”

“Not even trying to hide it, are you? No, no, no!”

Shi Shu turned to run and heard Xie Wuchi’s soft laugh. So he can laugh? Just as he was thinking this, a strong arm wrapped around his waist. The room only had a bed, a dark brown wooden table, and a tall wardrobe. The floor was covered with a felt blanket. In his panic, Shi Shu grabbed onto the coat rack with both hands and shouted, “Xie Wuchi, you dare touch me!”

His nails scraped against the wardrobe, making a piercing sound. Shi Shu was pulled back by Xie Wuchi’s arm around his waist and landed on his butt on the felt blanket. His vision was still blurry, but his face was cupped by two hands.

Mwah…

“Baby.”

Just one peck was enough to draw out a transparent string of saliva. Shi Shu’s mouth was open as a kiss landed, licking at the flesh of his tongue, twining with it gently, sucking at the inside of his mouth. But there was none of the previous passion-fueled confusion. Shi Shu had no mind for anything else. “No, don’t… Xie Wuchi, let go, I don’t want to kiss.”

The youth’s voice ended on a sticky note.

Shi Shu was distracted, his brow furrowed, his desire to resist strong. Xie Wuchi, panting, slowly released his hands. Seeing him let go, Shi Shu wiped his mouth and was about to bolt. “That’s it, let me go!”

And then, he was pulled into a face-to-face embrace.

The body temperature, the arms, the strength—none of it had felt so abrupt when he was held before, but now it felt truly strange, the strange feeling of being gay.

A “clang” sounded from outside the window as the door was blown by the wind and snow of deep winter. On the border in the dead of winter, it got so cold at night that cotton quilts couldn’t keep out the chill. Water would freeze into ice, and sometimes even the blankets were icy.

Tonight, the wind was bone-chilling, letting out a mournful howl, almost like a fierce ghost knocking on the door. It was the first time Shi Shu had encountered such a strong, cold wind.

Xie Wuchi: “Sleep with me. I’m very warm.”

“I’m not cold, let me go…”

As Shi Shu struggled, a hand slipped under his clothes, cupped his legs, and lifted him up by his bottom. Shi Shu’s heels, toned from years of running, tensed. His legs were long and slender, but he had almost no strength to struggle in Xie Wuchi’s arms. He was carried all the way to the bedside and sat down.

“Who knows how long the storm will last. It’s warm by my side. Sleeping alone is cold and scary.”

Shi Shu sat on his lap, wrinkling the pristine robe, his mind full of question marks. “Is this something two normal guys would do?!”

“You’re cold, I’m not. Let me go!” Shi Shu prepared to leave, but he was held on the edge of the bed. The lamp was dim, and Xie Wuchi’s dark brows bore down on him again. Shi Shu’s vision plunged into darkness.

Cool lips pressed down.

Mwah… Gulp…

The sticky sound of lips and teeth. Xie Wuchi pecked at the tip of his lips, pausing for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Shi Shu’s nose.

Shi Shu tried to dodge, but a hand cupped the back of his head, forcing him like a little kitten being manhandled. Xie Wuchi licked the inside of his mouth, his jaw sometimes slightly open, his Adam’s apple bobbing, like the out-of-control instinct of a wild beast, blue veins pulsing with his breath.

“Mmm…” Xie Wuchi panted, satisfied with the kiss.

Shi Shu’s tongue was numb from the kissing. His fingers clutched at something like a lifeline, his shoulders hunched inward, his whole body trembling.

“…Ah.”

Shi Shu’s abdomen tightened. His jaw was rubbed by that rough fingertip, pushing his lips open. Xie Wuchi switched sides and licked the inside of his mouth, licking until Shi Shu’s consciousness went numb, his mind a muddled haze.

At times like these, Shi Shu would feel that Xie Wuchi’s desire for control was so strong, his lust so heavy, so intense, so oppressive, so alien.

Shi Shu’s head spun. He suddenly found the posture of sitting on his lap very familiar. That male couple in his high school class—during breaks, one would also sit on the other’s lap, hugging and kissing.

Damn it.

Shi Shu broke down. His stiffened waist went limp, and he leaned against Xie Wuchi’s chest. Both of them were breathing rapidly, their bodies pressed tightly together, their gazes entangled.

Xie Wuchi brushed his lips against his. “Am I better than Du Zihan?”

Shi Shu: “What does this have to do with him?”

“Am I… better than anyone you’ve ever met?”

Shi Shu looked up. There was little hint of a smile in Xie Wuchi’s eyes; instead, they were weighed down with a dark gloom, very concerned with the answer.

“…You’re the best. So what.”

Shi Shu’s casual remark provoked Xie Wuchi. His clothes were pulled open, revealing the youth’s fair, healthy, and well-proportioned body—lean muscle, a very elegant body ratio.

Shi Shu tried to get off his lap. “What are you doing…?”

There was a small mole on Shi Shu’s shoulder. Xie Wuchi took that pale shoulder in his mouth, gently licking his skin. His other hand caressed the spinous process of Shi Shu’s neck, tracing his bones. The tiger’s mouth of his hand was tensed, a gesture full of possessiveness and control that left Shi Shu with no power to resist.

There was a bronze mirror directly opposite the bed. As Shi Shu turned, he happened to see himself, half-naked, being held on Xie Wuchi’s lap. The difference in their body sizes, their skin tones, Xie Wuchi’s hands roaming without restraint, as if caressing a vase or a mural, doing as he pleased.

And Shi Shu was actually sitting on his lap.

The small of his back and his buttocks were supported by his other hand. The strength was astonishing. Shi Shu’s clothes were nervously pushed open, and compared to Xie Wuchi’s toned, muscular chest, Shi Shu was actually on the slender side, clearly a size smaller in his arms.

Shi Shu’s mind short-circuited. At this point, the word ‘gay’ could no longer give him any sense of shock.

Shi Shu looked down and felt a slow, warm rubbing against his leg, like a gnarled tree root.

At night, this is what he and Xie Wuchi were like!

Fine during the day, but as soon as night fell, they were hugging and kissing.

Like he was possessed by a damn ghost.

Shi Shu prepared to leave, but his wrist was grabbed. Xie Wuchi licked his jaw. Those dark eyebrows, that handsome face leaning toward sinister—what kind of brother would love to lick him in the middle of the night?

Shi Shu: “Are you done licking?”

Xie Wuchi: “I want to fuck you.”

Shi Shu’s back tensed. “Say that again if you have the guts.”

Xie Wuchi’s voice was in his ear. “I want to fuck your little hole.”

You’ve got some guts, alright.

Shi Shu grabbed his collar. “You really dare to say that! What about during the day?”

“I want to, day and night.”

Shi Shu: “In your dreams! I don’t know how much longer I have to play this game with you.”

Shi Shu bent his knees and stood up, using all his strength. This time, he was finally not entangled by Xie Wuchi again. He returned to his own room, but just before he left, he seemed to hear Xie Wuchi’s ostentatious, soft laugh.

Damn it, I’m so angry.

Shi Shu was angry all night. He only fell asleep after forgetting about it. He woke up early to see the kittens. After breakfast, just as the wind was at its most biting, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from the courtyard gate—very neat and uniform. A moment later, someone knocked on the door.

“Lord Xie, the Military Commissioner of Senzhou, my General Zhao, has invited you.”

Xie Wuchi walked to the door. A moment later, he returned and said, “I’m afraid I won’t be back until tonight. Make dinner for yourselves.”

He spoke directly ignoring Du Zihan, who was squatting to the side.

Shi Shu: “Got it.”

Xie Wuchi put on his snow cloak and a conical hat, and was led away by the officer into the wind and snow.

“Wow,” Du Zihan looked at his back with envy. “As expected, someone who has made a name for himself will naturally be invited to banquets by the military department as soon as he arrives. He’s no longer a nobody with nothing.”

Shi Shu: “Whatever, humph.”

Shi Shu was still playing with the cats when Du Zihan suddenly asked, “Were you two okay last night?”

Shi Shu: “…What did you hear?”

Du Zihan: “You were shouting ‘don’t’.”

“…”

Shi Shu was at a loss for words. “Anyway, it’s complicated. You have to believe that he and I are innocent. If you don’t believe it, just brainwash yourself a little.”

Du Zihan: “So is it that Brother Xie is taking advantage of you? For you to follow him, you have to have a physical transaction with him?”

Shi Shu lazily warmed himself by the fire. “It’s really not what you think.”

“He likes you?” Du Zihan guessed again.

Likes? A shiver ran down Shi Shu’s back. The word had been closing in on his mind for the past few days, a word he had never dared to utter, was now spoken by Du Zihan.

Shi Shu turned to stare straight at him.

Du Zihan: “Brother Xie really likes you?”

“Don’t say it again!” Shi Shu suddenly exploded. “I absolutely do not want to think about this. If you say it again, I won’t be able to be friends with him anymore.”

Du Zihan: “…”

“Did you really just graduate from high school? You’re still so shy and evasive about this kind of thing.” Du Zihan waved his hand. “So he likes you, what’s the big deal.”

…Xie Wuchi likes me? The words echoed in Shi Shu’s mind like a demonic chant. In Shukang Prefecture, it had only been a vague feeling, but it had become clearer and clearer after the exile.

Shi Shu: “But how can you say such a heretical word as ‘like’?”

His relationship with Xie Wuchi had nothing to do with pure love.

In fact, for Xie Wuchi’s preferences, words like “incest,” “forced love,” or “sex between brothers” were more fitting than “like.”

Du Zihan flatly refused to join this discussion. “I don’t get you gay guys. I’m not saying any more.”

“…”

Shi Shu talked with him for a while. Outside, there was another knock on the door, the sound of the copper ring hitting the wooden door was rough. “Open up! Official inquiry!”

Shi Shu stood up and opened the door. There were a few men in wide robes and large sleeves, looking like government clerks, and a few others wearing armor, clearly from the army.

Shi Shu asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Household registration check. You just moved in, right? Where are you all from?”

After Shi Shu mentioned Xie Wuchi’s name, the other party’s expression softened a little. “Oh, so you’re Lord Xie’s family. Young master, you may not know, but as a major border defense town, Senzhou has its own conscription laws. Every household must send one person to serve. Last night, the snowstorm was too big, and the road on the supply route was buried by snow from the mountains. We are recruiting laborers to clear the road and the snow. Does Lord Xie’s family also need to…”

The man trailed off. Xie Wuchi had connections with the prefectural governor, but he was still a demoted official, so his protection wasn’t extensive.

Shi Shu: “I understand. You want us to go do labor?”

The man said, “Yes, clearing the supply route will only take a few days of labor, not long. Young masters…”

Shi Shu turned to look at Du Zihan. Du Zihan’s face was full of understanding. “It’s time for this old slave to make his debut.”

Shi Shu: “…”

Shi Shu: “Who said you were going? I said we’ll go together, okay?”

Du Zihan was a little touched. “Okay, okay, actually I don’t really want to go alone. I like to be with people.”

“Wait, we’ll be right there.”

Shi Shu first went back to put on gloves and a hat that covered his ears. He was bundled up from head to toe before walking out with Du Zihan. Behind the guards, a crowd of common people had already gathered, carrying tools like hoes and wheelbarrows.

The ground was frozen solid. The laborers were bathed in the wind and snow, unable to open their eyes against the wind, but there was also a sense of unity and fearlessness in the face of hardship.

In this kind of heavy snow, whenever there was a need for manpower, everyone would go.

Shi Shu described the feeling: “It’s like the weekly big cleanup at school.”

Du Zihan: “Yeah, labor, unity.”

The supply route.

As the saying goes, provisions and fodder go before troops and horses. As a city at the foot of the Yinshan Mountains, Senzhou lacked food supplies. The supply route was the lifeline for the tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians there. Now that the snowstorm had blocked the route, it was a matter concerning the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

However, this major task was currently being accomplished by the hardworking and impoverished common people and soldiers.

Shi Shu and Du Zihan followed the laborers for a long way out of the city and found that the supply route was actually in a valley. The terrain was too low, and last night’s sudden blizzard had caused an avalanche, burying the route under too much snow.

The military situation was clearly urgent. Curses and angry shouts came from the other end.

Shi Shu started working. “Why was it built in a valley? Isn’t it prone to avalanches?”

Du Zihan looked around and said, “They probably had no choice. The roads here are all blocked by mountains. This path through the valley must have been the shortest route. After all, humanity has never given up on carving out roads beneficial to the progress of civilization from treacherous geography.”

Shi Shu shoveled the snow into a small wheelbarrow to the side and couldn’t help but say, “You really know how to talk.”

Du Zihan: “Not at all, not at all. I’m studying for the civil service exam.”

“…”

Shi Shu spoke less and put more effort into his work. Occasionally, he would look up. Beside him, many strangers were silently clearing the snow. The soldiers on the side were even more anxious, afraid of being beheaded for delaying the military rations. They stood anxiously on the snowy slope, watching.

“You, you, and you, go over there and break up that big pile of snow.”

“And you! You go over there and push all the snow to the bottom of the cliff.”

“Don’t rest! Folks! This is the army’s life-saving grain!”

“…”

The supply route was of utmost importance. Shi Shu shoveled the snow. It was like running; he just needed to focus on the task at hand, digging at the snow in front of him. Only his palms and toes gradually grew so cold they started to lose feeling.

Time passed. After who knows how long, Shi Shu suddenly heard Du Zihan shout, “Run!!!”

It was a heart-wrenching scream that made Shi Shu jerk his head up. “What’s wrong?”

A few flakes of snow fell on his head. Before Shi Shu could react, his arm was grabbed by Du Zihan and yanked forward with such force that his skin hurt. As he stumbled forward, he heard countless overlapping, throat-tearing screams: “Avalanche!”

Avalanche!

Avalanche.

Shi Shu’s mind jolted. Adrenaline surged to its absolute peak, and his legs began to run wildly on their own!

His hands and feet were frozen. The hot air he exhaled from his face covering turned to ice, blurring his vision. Shi Shu charged forward with Du Zihan behind him. As the two of them ran, a group of people behind them were also shouting and running, scattering in all directions from the valley.

Shi Shu’s ears were filled with noise and static. He looked back as he ran and heard the “swish” of the blizzard collapsing to the ground, a rumbling sound that seemed to want to bury the entire world. In the vast white expanse of ice and snow, several slow-moving black figures were knocked down by the snow and buried within.

Shi Shu’s heart pounded, “thump, thump, thump.” There was only his heartbeat. Both he and Du Zihan had dazed expressions, never having expected to be so close to death. Looking up, the snow on that part of the mountain was gone. The soldiers were shouting again: “Go back! Clear the snow! Save the people!”

“Save them! Quick, save them!”

“Save them, so many people are buried in the snow! Quick, save them!”

Having just escaped with their lives, the group ran back and started digging in the snow piles, pulling out those who had been knocked unconscious or killed by the huge blocks of snow. Shi Shu ran back to where he saw someone buried and started digging at the icy snow with his fingers, non-stop.

Cold sweat. In the dead of winter, his back was covered in cold sweat.

He had never had an experience like this.

Du Zihan was with him. The two of them dug together. A moment later, they finally dug someone out. Buried in the snow, the person had almost lost all body heat.

Shi Shu dragged him out, his mind a blank. He asked the others, “How do we save him? How do we save him? Someone, quick! Help him!”

Some people had blood at the corners of their mouths, killed by the hard blocks of snow. Others were luckier and could sit up soon after being pulled out. Still others had fainted and were taken to where the soldiers were, rubbing their arms to restore warmth.

“So much snow, so cold. Colder than the exile.”

Du Zihan said, “So cold, so cold, so cold.”

Shi Shu thought of the exile, of the hundreds of high-ranking court officials in the Eastern Capital who had jointly submitted a memorial a few months ago, demoting Xie Wuchi, who had just equalized the land tax, all the way back to the capital from the provinces, putting him in a cangue, and making him walk a thousand miles.

“You tell me, who has contributed more to the Great Jing? The high officials in the court, or the common people clearing the supply route?”

Du Zihan said, “It’s just a division of labor, there’s no high or low. They are all useful.”

Shi Shu: “Yes, Xie Wuchi is useful, and the peasants harvesting rice in the fields back then were also useful. The general is useful, and these common people are also useful.”

The supply route connected Senzhou with the outside world, allowing Senzhou to better function as a military stronghold. The historical glory, the great achievements—a part of it belonged to the common people who moved mountains and cleared blizzards.

Shi Shu kept this in his heart. After saving the person, he once again threw himself into the work of clearing the snow. The snow piles on both sides of the road grew smaller, and the sky grew darker.

“I’m afraid the snow will be heavy tonight too! We’ll probably have to come back and clear snow tomorrow.”

“…Is Old Du really dead?”

“Starving to death. Is it clean yet? Can we go back?”

As they worked, Shi Shu could hear everyone around him talking. Frost condensed on his eyelashes. Finally, he saw the supply route cleared. As the long-awaited supply carts passed by, behind the rumbling wheels, he and Du Zihan sat on the ground, panting.

“Another day of dedicating our youth to the Great Jing.”

Shi Shu said, “A day of contributing to human civilization.”

The two stood up and high-fived in tacit understanding. The sound of galloping hooves approached. Shi Shu lowered his head to tear off the glove stuck to his fingers. The skin was torn along with it. His hands and feet were so frozen they were numb; he didn’t know if he had frostbite.

Shi Shu was ready to go home.

He didn’t notice a sturdy, tall horse stop not far away. A figure in a snow cloak swung down from the horse’s back. Just as Shi Shu looked up, the figure was already upon him.

His wrist was grabbed by another hand. “Shi Shu.”

Xie Wuchi’s shadow was very close, his dark eyes looking at him. “You.”

Shi Shu suddenly smiled. “Damn! Du Zihan and I came out to clear snow, worked all afternoon, and finally finished.”

Then his smile faded. “We even encountered an avalanche. Several people died. It was terrifying.”

Xie Wuchi: “So you know what terrifying is.”

He pulled Shi Shu’s wrist, his temper carrying the raw cold of a wild ride through a snowy night. “Go back.”

Shi Shu looked back at Du Zihan. Du Zihan squeezed his eye at him, clearly having noticed Xie Wuchi holding Shi Shu’s hand.

Shi Shu was suddenly reminded of the “like” conversation and pulled his hand away. “Let’s go.”

Xie Wuchi: “Get on the horse.”

Shi Shu: “How come there’s only one? Then I won’t ride. Let’s walk back together. I’m not that tired anyway.”

He was putting on a brave face. Shi Shu was so tired right now he could kneel on the ground and kowtow.

Xie Wuchi was silent for a moment, then walked over to a nearby soldier, showed them his waist tablet, and borrowed a horse. Shi Shu mounted, Du Zihan sat on the other horse, and Xie Wuchi led the reins toward the city walls in the snowy night.

Shi Shu lay on the horse’s back as if he were dying. “So tired. Probably because I’m not used to it. Maybe if I work more in the future, it won’t be so tiring.”

Xie Wuchi: “I’ll tell the government officials you don’t need to go anymore.”

Shi Shu sniffed the scent in the horse’s mane. “It’s nothing to work a little.”

It was a long walk back to the Senzhou city gate. Du Zihan dismounted first and led the horses to the stables. Just as Shi Shu was about to jump down, Xie Wuchi stood beside the horse, an arm reached under his armpit, and lifted him into his arms.

“This position again! Xie Wuchi, how much do you like to carry people? I’m not two or three years old!”

Shi Shu’s resistance was futile. He was carried back to the courtyard’s long corridor. Dinner was already warming in the pot. Du Zihan had already very consciously gotten his food and gone back to his own room. He also needed a good bath and rest.

Shi Shu said, “…Do you think it’s appropriate for us to be like this in front of him?”

Xie Wuchi didn’t say much, his features hidden in shadow. He looked down at Shi Shu for a moment, then went to boil hot water in the pot and brought out the warmed food first.

Shi Shu didn’t stay idle. “What’s that waist tablet of yours?”

Xie Wuchi showed it to him. “A tablet from the Commissioner’s Office. I can enter and exit at will and serve as a staff officer.”

“Your old profession.” Shi Shu handed it back.

Shi Shu’s hands still didn’t have much feeling. They must have been severely frozen. Xie Wuchi had him soak them in warm water first, then brought over the food from the table. “Eat.”

He fed him spoonful by spoonful.

Shi Shu: “It’s not that serious. Put it down, I can eat by myself.”

Then, his jaw was pinched, and a spoonful of rice was forced into his mouth. Shi Shu: “I told you—”

He hadn’t forgotten last night’s conversation, and today Du Zihan had said, “He likes you.” Shi Shu clearly didn’t want to think in that direction, but it was hard not to make the connection.

Once he made the connection, Shi Shu’s ears turned red. He turned his head to look at a spider on the beam. He and Xie Wuchi had already messed around like this, but the idea of pure love felt so illusory.

Shi Shu ate more than half the bowl and said, “That’s enough for now. I’ll take a bath. I’m freezing right now. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey—”

Before he could finish, he was picked up by Xie Wuchi, his clothes stripped off, and he was placed in the wooden tub filled with warm water.

Splash. Water splashed everywhere. Shi Shu sat in the bathtub, his shoulders held down by Xie Wuchi, his limbs soaking first. Shi Shu still wanted to resist and struggle, but the bath was just too comfortable. Shi Shu sat down obediently.

Xie Wuchi didn’t look too happy, but he wasn’t angry either. He just seemed to be lost in thought, while washing Shi Shu’s hair.

Shi Shu simply lay back and let him serve, his mind still on the snow outside the city. “I hope the snow isn’t too heavy tonight, otherwise I’ll have to be busy again tomorrow.”

A moment later, Shi Shu, leaning over the edge of the wooden tub, actually fell asleep. There were dark circles under Xie Wuchi’s eyes. He used a cloth to absorb the water from his hair, wrapped him loosely in a robe, and carried him to the bed in his own room.

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