Hu Shen stood with her arms crossed, silently waiting for the man before her to respond.
Watching Xie Xixiao's hand gripping the edge of the bed tighten and loosen repeatedly, the hesitation—though not particularly long—felt excruciatingly drawn-out against the backdrop of his furrowed brow and grave expression.
Finally, he spoke, his tone carrying a desperate resolve: "Fine, then now—"
Before he could finish, Hu Shen reached out and tugged at the tie around his neck. The slipknot came undone with a single pull, and the thick animal hide fell onto the low couch like a shot-down goose.
She paused for a moment, locking her gaze onto his eyes, which held a stubborn, restrained intensity. "No, you still have to swear an oath. How do you people in Zhongyuan say it? To the Bodhisattva? Anyway, if you break your word, you'll never return to Zhongyuan in this lifetime, and the comrades you care about will die on the grasslands."
Xie Xixiao shot her a cold, sharp glare. Even hearing such words felt like a venomous curse to him.
He seized her hand, the scalding heat from his palm transferring to her skin. "I won't swear on anyone else's life. If you don't trust me, I'll swear on my own. If I break my word, may I be left to rot on the grasslands, never to return in this lifetime."
Hu Shen blinked and was the first to look away.
Fine, she could trust him.
She twisted her wrist, and Xie Xixiao released his grip, leaning back slightly and bracing himself on the bed with his hands, exposing his elegant neck and the subtly shifting Adam's apple.
Hu Shen focused on undressing him, but the lingering warmth from where he had gripped her hand still seemed to linger. She glanced at him and, without hesitation, reached out to touch his forehead.
The moment she made contact, Xie Xixiao grabbed her hand, as if deeply offended, his voice turning icy. "What are you doing?"
"Checking if you still have a fever."
Xie Xixiao curled his lips into a mocking smile. "What, if I'm still feverish, will you give up?"
Hu Shen shook her head gently. "Of course not. If you're hot, we'll do it hot. I'm just afraid you might die."
These words made Xie Xixiao feel like a stud horse waiting to be bred. He felt a cramping pain in his stomach, and his feverish head throbbed at his temples. His body, which had endured the entire day, now ached from his wounds down to the marrow, fueled by the humiliation of the moment.
He gritted his teeth and held on until his clothes were undone and Hu Shen's hand rested on his shoulder. Only then did he frown and speak. "Don't touch me."
Hu Shen thought he was being unreasonable. "How are we supposed to make a baby if I don't touch you?"
Xie Xixiao suppressed the unfamiliar discomfort. "I said don't touch me with your hands. Do you need hands to make a baby?"
Hu Shen pursed her lips, thinking he had far too many rules.
She didn't dwell on such trivialities and continued to undo the tie at his waist. When he was completely stripped bare, Xie Xixiao averted his gaze, unwilling to look.
Hu Shen, however, had no such reservations. She studied him carefully. "You heal quite quickly. Last night, I saw bruises, but today they're gone. You're quite suited for making babies with people. Wait… why is this different from last night?"
As she rambled on, Xie Xixiao's temples throbbed violently again. He hadn't intended to respond, but she kept staring, her gaze stoking the fire he was struggling to suppress. He snapped impatiently, "What's different? All men look the same."
Hu Shen blinked. "Yesterday, it was standing—"
"Shut up."
Xie Xixiao realized what she was referring to, a breath catching in his throat, unwilling to listen to her continue with those shameless words.
He took two deep breaths: "Bring me more of last night's wine."
Hu Shen found it troublesome—last night's wine had been completely finished, where could she possibly find more? Besides, her clothes were already off.
She wanted to use force, directly raising her hand to pin him down. Xie Xixiao was caught entirely off guard, grunting from her strength: "You—"
But his words were cut short before he could finish.
He then sensed the unusual sensation on his body.
Sure enough, the next moment, he heard the woman's carefree, lighthearted voice: "Hey, this is just like last night."
Xie Xixiao felt the same uncontrollable frustration and anger from last night churning in his chest, surging through his limbs and bones, twisting his heart and lungs in pain.
He hadn’t drunk the wine, so why was this still happening—
As Hu Shen knelt on the bed, leaning forward, the distance between them gradually shortened. His gaze unconsciously swept over her pale knees, then trailed along her slender legs.
Xie Xixiao hurriedly looked away, lying on the bed in resignation, turning his head to the side and refusing to look any further. His long fingers clenched tightly, unwilling to let any inappropriate sounds or reactions escape him.
When things truly began, he could clearly sense that Hu Shen wasn’t fully prepared. Even without looking, he could feel it from the tightness, along with the sound of her sharply inhaling.
Strangely, he felt a sense of satisfaction—it wasn’t just him whose body refused to obey. No matter how eager she was, her own body wouldn’t allow her to commit this wicked act.
But soon, that satisfaction vanished, because this woman was reckless. She seemed either unaware of the pain or believed it would quickly fade, proceeding with brute force. He couldn’t bear it any longer: "What’s the rush?"
Hu Shen held her breath: "Me? I’m not rushing."
"If you’re not rushing, then slow down," Xie Xixiao nearly shouted. "Has no one ever taught you these things?"
She panted lightly, her eyes looking at him with a hint of confusion: "No, but I’ve seen sheep and dogs—they do it like this."
He laughed bitterly, realizing he wasn’t even comparable to a horse.
He no longer wanted to bother with her, resigning himself to enduring the pain together. But Hu Shen obediently slowed down a little.
Such matters required a natural progression. Though still somewhat confused, Hu Shen gradually began to grasp the basics.
But it was exhausting, even more so than last night. Perhaps it was because she had exerted too much energy today, or maybe the lingering discomfort from last night hadn’t fully faded. It could also be because he refused to let her lean on him, leaving her with no support to rely on, forcing her to clutch her own clothes tightly.
Remembering last night’s experience, aside from the initial clumsiness, she gradually found her rhythm, even repeating the act twice before finally stopping, just like the night before.
Hu Shen gasped for breath, wanting to sit a little longer to rest before cleaning up. But Xie Xixiao’s cold gaze, filled with complex emotions, swept over her first: "Are you done yet?"
He had misunderstood.
With no other choice, Hu Shen got up, rubbing her sore legs, and went to clean herself first.
She kindly left a clean cloth behind and, after dressing, pointed to the hot water for Xie Xixiao: "Clean yourself with this. The cloth is from Zhongyuan—I usually can’t bear to use it."
After speaking, she ignored him, only readjusting the waistband on her clothing properly before swaggering out of the tent. She seemed leisurely, as if drowsy after a full meal, though she walked somewhat slowly. This sight irritated Xie Xixiao’s eyes.
When she returned with the meat broth, Xie Xixiao had already lain back down fully clothed, once again appearing as feeble as he had that morning.
Hu Shen held the soup bowl, which contained a stone spoon for his use alone. Seeing his state, she leaned down to call to him, “Are you all right?”
The person on the bed did not respond.
He must be asleep. Indeed, with injuries and illness still upon him, he ought to rest.
Having seen his condition during the day, Hu Shen no longer dared to let her guard down. This man was incredibly resilient—a starved camel was still larger than a horse—and she could not afford to be unprepared again.
Having eaten her fill, she went to fetch her belongings from her own tent. She placed one dagger under her pillow and another at her waist, not removing it even when she slept.
When Xie Xixiao awoke, he saw her sewing animal hides in another part of the tent. Hearing his movements, she glanced at him casually before continuing her work without pause. “You’re awake?”
“Are you staying?”
“I am the woman the Khan bestowed upon you. Of course, I must share your tent.”
Xie Xixiao said nothing more, only stared at her for a moment before closing his eyes again.
His boundaries were retreating step by step.
Since other things had already been done, sharing a tent was no great matter, especially since they were not sharing the same bed.
For these three days, Hu Shen stayed by his side. When she had nothing else to do, she sewed animal hides in the tent to prepare for winter. As dusk fell, she fulfilled their agreement twice, and when finished, she returned to her warm bedding to continue sewing hides.
But her occasional glances toward the man on the bed only deepened Xie Xixiao’s disgust for this surveillance.
He felt as though he had been placed on a stage, with every move watched by her. Even daily, at some unexpected time, he would see her approach him step by step, press him down, and engage in intimate acts. He felt like a vase—observed and toyed with.
Finally, after three days passed, on the morning of the fourth day, Hu Shen approached him with iron chains. “A promise is a promise. I’ll take you to see them, but we must be chained together to prevent you from running.”
Xie Xixiao watched as she crouched down and sneered coldly, “If I wanted to run, I could still escape even after cutting off your legs.”
Hu Shen tugged carelessly on the chains to test their sturdiness. “I won’t give you a knife, so you can’t cut anything.”
She stood up. “Let’s go.”
The place where the remaining five men were held was some distance away. Hu Shen led him along a small path to avoid being seen and having to explain.
When they reached a tent, she tilted her chin upward. “Go in.”
For the past year, Xie Xixiao had kept them in his thoughts, but now, faced with the moment of reunion, he felt a surge of fear.
He did not know what he would see inside, and he was well aware that his comrades must have suffered no less than he had. His heart grew heavy, and the hand hidden in his sleeve clenched tighter.
He stood before the tent, his tall frame particularly conspicuous.
Growing impatient, Hu Shen simply gave him a push, shoving him directly into the tent.
The smell of blood rushed into his nostrils without warning. Xie Xixiao’s pupils contracted sharply as his gaze fell upon the beds. His heart felt as though it were being squeezed tightly, aching and swelling until he nearly suffocated.
The person on the bed turned his head at the sound, revealing a pair of hollow eyes.
Xie Xixiao’s breath caught in his throat. He swallowed hard, stepped to the bedside, and slowly knelt down. "Qi Kefeng, it’s me."
The man on the bed twitched his lips, disbelief in his voice. "General? General Xie?"
The long-unheard address, mixed with a hoarse tone, felt like a thousand cuts to Xie Xixiao’s heart.
He was the one who had brought these men from the capital, yet he had failed to protect his brothers, unable to bring them back whole. Now they were trapped in enemy territory, tortured and covered in wounds.
Qi Kefeng had a pair of beautiful phoenix eyes, unusually delicate for a man. When he first joined the army, many mistook him for being much younger. Clever and quick-witted, with a sweet tongue, wherever the troops marched, he would attract girls who would bring him gifts.
So why, of all people, had his eyes been gouged out?
Did the Beiwei people know how beautiful his eyes were and deliberately sought to destroy them?
Qi Kefeng grew agitated, struggling to sit up, but his body trembled under the strain of his emotions. He wept, tears streaming from his empty eye sockets, murky and tinged with blood. "General, how did you get here? Are you alright?"
"I’m fine," Xie Xixiao replied, suppressing the pain from the wounds on his back. His voice was as rough as if he had swallowed sharp stones, scraping down his throat and grating against his heart and lungs.
He promised solemnly, "I will find a way to bring you all back."
Hu Shen couldn’t bear to watch. She turned her head away first, staring blankly at the tent flap, saying nothing.
Behind her, the two men spoke words of increasing sorrow, while Xie Xixiao only shared good news, insisting he was fine no matter what was asked.
Hu Shen lowered her head further. At this moment, she should have left—she couldn’t bear to listen.
Once war broke out, there would be many like this. But on the grasslands, fighting was inevitable, for everything had to be seized by force.
Grasslanders fought grassland people, grassland people fought Zhongyuan people. She had seen many die like this, and perhaps one day it would be her turn.
Her brother said that only when Zhongyuan was unified would it all stop.
She felt that day was too far away, yet she still hoped for it—hoped to go to Zhongyuan, where such things would no longer happen.
She wanted to escape this place, but her ears had to stay alert, carefully listening to their words, committing them to memory, lest she miss something important.
There were four more like this to see.
Hu Shen led Xie Xixiao to each of them—one with a broken leg, another missing an arm, and only one with all limbs intact but bearing severe wounds, lying breathless on the bed.
On the way back, Xie Xixiao’s aura grew even more oppressive. Hu Shen followed behind him, keeping a careful distance.
Perhaps the shock had been too great, for his steps seemed unsteady. Finally, he stopped, clenched a fist against his lips, and coughed violently several times.
Hu Shen instinctively moved to support him. "What’s wrong?"
"Get away."
Xie Xixiao pulled his arm back, gave her a cold glance, and continued walking.
Hu Shen sighed softly and was about to follow when she heard someone call her name from behind. "Tuoba Hu Shen, I’ve been looking all over for you!"
At this, her body stiffened. She turned in surprise to see a tall, burly man laughing as he strode toward her.
It was Yelu Jian.
"I’ve been gone so long—did you miss me?"
Yelu Jian spread his arms: "Hu Shen, come here."
Author's note:
Xie Xixiao: I have a fever.
Hu Shen: Oh, then try 39 degrees.