Gu Jun understood in his heart that he wasn’t smart enough. If he made up a reason on the spot, there might be a loophole somewhere. He needed a long, long time to think about how to answer the other person.
As for now…
Gu Jun bent down, grabbed the other person’s arm with one hand, and wrapped the other around their shoulder. He took a deep breath, tightened his muscles, and tried to pull the person up.
The young man said, “What are you doing?”
Gu Jun didn’t have time to reply. He lost his strength, stumbled, and fell solidly onto the young man.
The young man grunted in pain, his chest heaving heavily.
Gu Jun hurriedly got up, not knowing where to put his hands and feet. He didn’t dare to look at the other person and replied softly, “I wanted to help you up and go somewhere else. It’s cold and damp here, and our clothes are…”
He didn’t know how to say “soaked” in the local language, so he twisted his clothes to show they were wet and then said, “It’s easy to die from hypothermia.”
The young man took a while to respond, then said in a low voice, “Okay.” After a pause, he added, “Next time, tell me in advance if you’re going to do something.”
Gu Jun nodded lightly.
Even though his body was cold and numb, his chest ached, and even bending his fingers was difficult, Lin Yue could already feel the strength gradually returning beneath his skin.
He propped himself up and tried to stand.
Gu Jun realized and reached out to help him.
Lin Yue glanced at him from the corner of his eye, silently grasped Gu Jun’s hand, and supported himself up.
The other person looked tall and slender like a bamboo, yet was surprisingly solid and heavy. When Gu Jun had dragged him out of the river earlier, the ground had taken most of the weight, so he hadn’t felt it. Now, he truly felt it.
Gu Jun was almost knocked off balance again as the other person used him for support.
He steadied himself, barely holding his almost collapsing body together, and helped the person walk forward.
Ahead was a large open space, with lush grass and plenty of sunlight. It was a good place to take his newly acquired husband to bask in the sun and warm up.
He could also take off his outer clothes, start a fire, and dry them quickly in the sun.
Gu Jun originally thought of taking off all of his husband’s clothes to deal with them. Even though the inner clothes were thin, if they didn’t dry quickly, they could catch a cold.
But this place wasn’t exactly deserted, and he had a female identity. If someone saw, who knows what rumors would spread? If some busybodies came to watch, it would be a spectacle! What if the county magistrate charged him with indecency?
So, just taking off the outer clothes would be enough. As for the inner clothes, they could dry slowly in the sun or by the fire.
As for his own wet clothes…
Gu Jun didn’t plan to take off any of them now. He would wait until the other person rested before dealing with them.
Although he looked somewhat feminine, with an indistinct Adam’s apple, a fair face without a beard, he still had what most men had. Now that he was wearing thick clothes, it wasn’t noticeable, but once he took them off and wore thin clothes, anyone who wasn’t blind could see.
Since Gu Jun had lied, he certainly didn’t want to be exposed immediately.
But he clearly understood one thing: his parents had lost a son, and he couldn’t let the other person’s parents lose a son too.
He thought that once he found a way to make a living in this era, he would definitely tell the other person the truth, let him go without saying, and even help him find his parents.
Finally, he would sign an agreement to transfer all his income from working for the next ten years to the other person as compensation.
Actually, before this, when he learned that the other person had lost his memory and mistook him for a woman, he had a fleeting thought of being honest.
However, as soon as that thought arose, Gu Jun feared he wouldn’t be able to find the other person’s family, wasting his efforts, or that if he did find them, they wouldn’t be grateful, leaving him with nothing.
Although the other person looked dignified, his hands were rough with thick calluses, and his attire was even less than that of a small shopkeeper.
Most likely, his family wasn’t wealthy, just an ordinary household among many.
Such families often didn’t want to reward benefactors, as every penny was hard to earn, and after all, they hadn’t asked for help.
Gu Jun had truly experienced Da Xuan society and didn’t want to see these two situations.
In just a few breaths, he extinguished that thought.
Gu Jun didn’t know if he counted as a good person now, probably not.
But… a good person?
What does being a good person count for in this era?
That’s something that would get you ground to death.
Gu Jun thought it was already pretty good that he hadn’t resorted to cannibalism.
…
Gu Jun picked up some dry grass, gathered a few handfuls of twigs, and used a flint he found near the river to strike a spark and slowly build a fire.
The slightly dry sunlight, the crackling sound of the fire, and the green leaves on the twigs in the fire were all very pleasing.
Gu Jun faced the fire, inserted the largest twig into the ground, and hung his husband’s outer clothes on it to dry.
After doing all this, he raised his hand, unable to help but shake his own clothes, which were both warm and damp again.
Lin Yue sat by the fire, recovering his strength. Hearing the noise, he turned his gaze to Gu Jun.
Gu Jun stopped his actions and said, “You rest. Once you’re rested, we’ll go home. My temporary home here.”
Lin Yue understood the gist, nodded lightly, and then said, “You should dry your outer clothes too, don’t catch a cold.” Gu Jun was about to refuse, but the other person turned away and closed his eyes after saying that.
Gu Jun’s eyes lit up. Now he didn’t have to wait for the other person to rest before dealing with his clothes. The other person was really considerate. This was more precious than being smart.
Gu Jun immediately took off his outer clothes and hung them up to dry.
Under the scorching sun and fire, the two sets of outer clothes steamed, white mist rising.
Gu Jun, afraid the other person might suddenly turn around, sat on the other side of the fire, with his back to the other person, just in case.
The other person kept his eyes closed and didn’t attempt to peek until the outer clothes were completely dry.
Gu Jun was starving. As soon as the outer clothes were dry, he put them on immediately. His inner clothes were dry by now too. He placed Lin Yue’s outer clothes in front of him and looked around for something to eat.
Lin Yue slowly opened his eyes, his ears catching the rustling sounds, and looked at Gu Jun’s back. He put on his outer clothes, dragged his still-recovering body, and slowly stood up.
It was autumn now, but in these times, ordinary families didn’t have it easy. Any wild fruits not deep in the mountains would have been picked clean by nearby farmers’ wives and children.
For them, if they could sell them for money, they would. If not, they made a great snack.
Gu Jun wandered around for a long time and only found a cluster of sour and astringent wild fruits.
Gu Jun didn’t have much, so he ate a few first. His tongue was so stimulated it almost couldn’t move. Barely feeling the bottom of his stomach, he gathered a handful and happily hurried back.
After taking just a couple of steps, he saw Lin Yue coming towards him.
The other person had somehow followed him.
Gu Jun offered the wild fruits with a smile, “Eat.”
Lin Yue looked at him, then at the wild fruits, picked one up, carefully wiped it, and put it in his mouth. His expression changed immediately, but under Gu Jun’s gaze, he forced it down.
“You’ve been thoughtful,” he said.
Gu Jun placed the wild fruits in his arms and said, “I’ll pick some more. You hold onto these first.”
Lin Yue: “…Is the county town far from here?” Lin Yue remembered some basic life knowledge, like which dynasty it was now and the regional hierarchy of this era.
Gu Jun replied, “Not far, less than an hour’s walk to the county town.”
As he said this, Gu Jun suddenly understood the implication of the other person’s words.
He awkwardly fiddled with his sleeve, remained silent for a moment, and then said softly, “We eloped, traveling light, and now I’m out of money. When I was drying your outer clothes, I checked the pocket sewn into the sleeve and your cloth shoes, but they were all empty. You don’t have any money either. You couldn’t have hidden money somewhere else.”
Lin Yue: If he had hidden money, he would have taken it out by now.