Warm, slightly rough fingers landed on his neck, and Gu Jun’s skin felt like it was on fire, burning painfully. He wanted to take a step back again.
Lin Yue withdrew his hand, rubbing the dried blood between his fingers until it turned into red powder, falling away. “Did you get hurt, my lady?” he asked.
Gu Jun replied, “I… yes, I did.”
Lin Yue sighed, “You never want me to worry, that’s just your nature.” He let out a long breath, looking quite helpless.
Feng Laotou said, “The young lady doesn’t know better, just talk it out properly, don’t be too harsh.”
Lin Yue cupped his hands in thanks, “Thank you for the advice, Feng Laotou.”
Only then did Feng Laotou leave with his people.
Lin Yue said to Gu Jun, “Let’s go back.”
The lights gradually dimmed, and the sound of a gong echoed. As the two walked along the main road, they completely left the county town just as the curfew began.
The old city gate was closed with a loud “clang” by two gatekeepers, and the surroundings fell silent. Birds flew away in fright, and the distant barking of dogs became particularly clear.
Gu Jun held his breath, listening to Lin Yue’s footsteps. Steady and composed.
Gu Jun was sure the other had guessed something, but he didn’t ask anything, as if a sharp sword was hanging over his head, making him anxious, fearing it would fall and pierce him through.
He hated this pressure!
Licking his chapped lips, he wanted to grab the other and ask what he had guessed. His hand reached out, but just as he was about to touch him, his fingers curled back, and he withdrew.
What would happen after asking and getting an answer?
What should he do next?
He should prepare a response for whatever the other might have guessed.
Dead men tell no tales. As long as his answer had no logical flaws, the other wouldn’t know he had killed Zhao Shuilai.
Hitting someone could be explained, but killing someone couldn’t be mentioned. The severity of these two actions was different, and not everyone could accept a criminal, especially one so calm after committing a crime.
He knew very well how much he needed Lin Yue, and precisely because of this, he couldn’t let the other leave him because of it.
Gu Jun was lost in thought all the way, and when they reached their destination, he didn’t stop and bumped into Lin Yue.
Lin Yue let out a muffled grunt, turned, and grabbed Gu Jun’s shoulder, asking, “What are you daydreaming about?” Without the shade of trees, the bright moonlight fell on him.
Gu Jun looked up, clearly seeing the other’s expression, as calm as ever.
Gu Jun had almost prepared his response, deciding in his heart—unless the other asked him directly, he would play dumb, pretending not to know what the other had guessed, and never speak up.
So, when he heard the question, he shook his head and said, “I was wondering if Zhao Shuilai would come back to trouble us.”
Lin Yue withdrew his hand, “I asked Feng Laotou to warn him. He shouldn’t bother us again.”
Gu Jun nodded, “That’s good.”
Lin Yue said, “Give me the inner clothes, I need to bathe in the pond, I’m all sweaty.” After a pause, “Come with me.”
Gu Jun untied Lin Yue’s inner clothes, handed them over, and slowly followed him to the pond.
Lin Yue undressed and bathed by the pond.
Gu Jun washed his hands, feet, and face on the side, then bit on a willow twig to rinse his mouth. He took Lin Yue’s clothes to the usual washing spot and washed them carefully.
He had no washing tools, no plant ash or soapberry, just used his hands to scrub. It didn’t matter if the stains didn’t come out, as long as the sweat and dirt were washed away.
Lin Yue liked cleanliness, and even though he did hard labor, his clothes weren’t too dirty.
After washing, Gu Jun wrung out the clothes and folded them neatly.
The outer pants and straight pants weren’t washed; they were only dirty on the outside, not sweaty inside, so they could be worn again. When the inner pants dried after the next bath, they could be swapped.
Fortunately, the weather was cooling, and the pants were long, otherwise, wearing only the outer pants would be troublesome.
The water was too cold.
After finishing everything, Gu Jun’s hands were numb from the cold, turning red from fingertips to palms and backs.
However, the wax burns on his hands turned white instead, but perhaps because of the cold, they didn’t hurt.
He stood up, rubbing his hands together and blowing on them to warm up.
Nearby, the sound of water stopped.
Gu Jun turned to see Lin Yue had finished bathing.
His wet long hair dripped water, flowing down his young, strong body.
He wrung out the excess water from his hair, biting a hair tie, stretching his shoulders and back, using his fingers as a comb to gather his hair, and tied it up.
Ensuring his hair wouldn’t interfere with dressing, he bent to pick up his clothes.
During this process, Gu Jun clearly saw his outstanding male features and the muscles moving with his actions.
Lin Yue had muscles where they should be, each one smooth and beautiful. In modern times, he could easily become a popular streamer with just a little exposure.
When he bent down, he was like a mountain, casting a shadow on the grass-covered ground.
As a fellow male, Gu Jun felt immense pressure. He looked at himself, doubting if he could last a minute against Lin Yue without being beaten to death.
—If the other discovered the truth, would he really not kill him?
This thought suddenly struck Gu Jun, cold sweat breaking out. He was already honest in front of Lin Yue, and now even more so, like a quail.
Lin Yue dressed, untied his hair, and with long strides, carrying a damp aura, walked over.
“Husband,” Gu Jun instinctively called out weakly.
Lin Yue’s gaze swept over Gu Jun’s hands and the washed clothes, picked up the clothes, and turned to leave.
Gu Jun quickly followed. After a while, seeing they were nearing their place, Lin Yue handed the clothes to him, saying, “You go back first.”
Gu Jun asked, “Where are you going?”
Lin Yue replied, “I’ll be back soon.” With that, he walked off quickly.
Gu Jun had no choice but to return to the bridge hole to wait for him. After a short while, he grew anxious, went up the bridge, stood on tiptoe, and looked around.
Empty, no one in sight.
Gu Jun fiddled with his sleeve.
The night wind blew coolly, penetrating the thin inner clothes, sticking to his skin, making him feel cold all over.
He couldn’t help but cross his arms, squatting down to reduce his body’s surface area, losing less heat, and slowly warming up.
He moved a bit to warm up faster, but at that moment, his knee hit his chest, sharp pain spreading quickly from the contact point.
Gu Jun gasped, straightened his back, and touched the painful area, belatedly remembering Zhao Shuilai had punched him several times in the chest.
He had been focused on dealing with the body, ignoring the injury. How was the wound now? Bruised or blackened?
He shouldn’t have injured his internal organs or bones since he could still move.
Gu Jun pulled open his collar, wanting to check the wound.
Just as he did, before he could see, Lin Yue returned, carrying a large bundle of firewood.
Gu Jun quickly closed his clothes and went to meet him.
“Where did you find so much firewood?” he asked, pulling off the thin branches dragging on the ground.
Lin Yue replied, “Bought it.”
“What?!”
“Bought it from a nearby farmer.”
Gu Jun almost lost his temper.
Look at us, are we the kind of people who can afford to buy this stuff? While it’s not everywhere, if you look carefully and avoid people, you can find it. Besides, it’s not that cold now.
Firewood is listed first among “firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea” because it’s very important for burning, roasting, cooking, and boiling.
However, like some dynasties in China, trees in the Xuan Dynasty couldn’t be cut down at will; you needed a permit from the government. Ordinary people relied on picking up branches in the mountains and using various grain roots from farming for fuel.
Gu Jun didn’t know how much a bundle of firewood cost, but he guessed it weighed at least twenty or thirty pounds, and it couldn’t be cheaper than a bowl of porridge or a pancake.
He suppressed his anger, asking with heartache, “How much did it cost?”
Lin Yue shook his head lightly, “I’ll earn it back.”
Gu Jun said, “Did you spend your whole day’s wages on it?”
Lin Yue took the firewood under the bridge, stacked it neatly, took out some dry leaves and a flint, and started a fire.
The flames roared high, and Lin Yue gestured for Gu Jun to sit down. He then selected a few clean, suitable branches, stuck them in the ground, and hung the wet clothes to dry by the fire.
Gu Jun, dissatisfied with his lack of response, sat down as instructed, his eyes following the other’s movements.
When Lin Yue finished everything and sat beside him, Gu Jun slowly moved closer, lightly kicking his foot.
“Answer me.”
Lin Yue took out a folded green leaf from his sleeve. The inner clothes he wore now had no sleeve pockets, so it was unclear how he kept the leaf there.
He unfolded the leaf, revealing a mashed green plant inside, sticky and emitting a faint bitter fragrance.
Lin Yue said, “Your hand.”
Gu Jun asked, “What’s this?”
“Bitter grass,” Lin Yue replied.
Bitter grass?
Gu Jun sniffed it, then looked closely, recognizing it as mugwort. It seemed bitter grass was another name for it.
Lin Yue said, “The family selling firewood grows bitter grass. They harvested a batch in summer, and now in late autumn, some new shoots have grown. I asked for some, along with the bundle of firewood, for ten coins.”
Gu Jun’s lips trembled.
“I know we’re currently spending more than we earn, but don’t worry, I have a plan. If we solve Feng Laotou’s issue, we can get some money, rent a cheap place, and no longer have to live rough.”
Lin Yue held his wrist, pulling his hands over, and gently applied the bitter grass to his wounds.
As soon as it touched, Gu Jun couldn’t help but hiss.
Lin Yue said, “Bear with it.” He continued applying the medicine. There wasn’t much bitter grass, so he used it sparingly, just enough to cover the wounds.
Gu Jun raised his hands, sniffed them, and the mugwort smell was strong. He disdainfully put his hands behind his back.
Lin Yue chuckled softly.
Realizing his action was a bit childish, Gu Jun brought his hands back out.
Lin Yue’s laughter grew, quite pleased.
Gu Jun glared at him, “Do you really have a way to solve Feng Laotou’s prisoner swap issue?”
Lin Yue said, “Yes.”
Gu Jun asked, “Do you believe that prisoner only committed a minor offense, as Feng Laotou said?”
Lin Yue replied, “Does it matter if I believe it or not? I still have to come up with a plan. He needs ideas, we need money, it’s mutually beneficial.”
Gu Jun hesitated for a few moments, “But…”
Lin Yue said, “You could deal with Zhao Shuilai, why hesitate now?”
Gu Jun looked at him in shock.
“Did I say something wrong?” Lin Yue’s warm breath brushed his ear as he leaned in close to speak.
Gu Jun’s skin prickled with goosebumps. He took a deep breath, pulling back a bit, also turning his head.
Without a ruler to measure, the distance wasn’t far enough, and turning his head, he bumped into Lin Yue’s nose.
Those deep, dark phoenix eyes seemed to delve into his heart, drawing out the hidden darkness.
The other’s probing finally came.
Gu Jun barely regained his composure, whispering, “I didn’t touch Zhao Shuilai. With my strength, if I met him, I’d be dead, let alone attack him.”
Lin Yue asked, “Then how did you get hurt and bloody?”
Gu Jun said, “When you told me to find a place to hide, in the chaos, I bumped into someone, their lantern broke, and wax dripped on my hand. The blood might have gotten on me then, and my hand’s skin broke.”
Lin Yue asked, “Really?” The distance between them was too close, their breaths mingling warmly.
Gu Jun blinked, struggling to squeeze out a few tears, “Husband, don’t you believe me?”
Lin Yue didn’t reply.
Gu Jun’s cheeks were wet with tears, and he leaned forward, pressing his cheek to the other’s nose. “Husband, please believe me…!”
Gu Jun’s eyes widened, the last word’s pitch suddenly rising.
Lin Yue slightly turned his head and kissed him.