Gu Chengyan had not expected him to ask this so suddenly, and for a moment, he was stunned.
Seeing the strange look on his face, Sahechena couldn’t help but press him: “Is it something that cannot be said?”
Gu Chengyan shook his head. It wasn’t that it couldn’t be said, but rather that it was difficult to explain. How was he supposed to put it? Should he bluntly state that the term Eche referred to the Wolf King’s wife? Or tell Sahechena directly that he had married his father?
…Tsk.
Or perhaps, should he just make something up on the spot?
Gu Chengyan eyed Sahechena and dismissed the thought. The cub only had a lackluster grasp of the language, not a lack of wit. On the contrary, he possessed a sensitivity that surpassed that of most people. To lie to his face like this…
Gu Chengyan unconsciously swallowed hard.
But Sahechena always looked at him with sincere intensity when they spoke. After such a long hesitation, Gu Chengyan could clearly feel the suspicion in Sahechena’s eyes deepening.
Helpless, Gu Chengyan could only grip his hand tighter and continue toward the campfire, saying, “That is a long story. Let’s find a place to sit first, and I will explain it to you slowly.”
Sahechena was visibly relieved; it seemed it wasn’t that he had asked a forbidden question.
However… he turned his head and studied Gu Chengyan’s face for a moment, then shook his hand and said, “If it is difficult for you, Wuwu, you do not have to tell me. I do not want to know that badly.”
Oh? Gu Chengyan let out a soft huff. Little cub, how did you learn the art of “advancing by retreating”?
Yet, looking at Sahechena’s handsome face, he found he was quite susceptible to such tactics.
Gu Chengyan ruffled the little guy’s hair. “A gentleman has nothing he cannot speak of to others. Come now, don’t put on such a ‘little wife’ expression. Come over here, and I will explain it to you from the beginning.”
He had already made up his mind to spend the rest of his life on the prairie, which meant he would be spending a great deal of time with Sahechena. Aside from the occasional bouts of madness and his habit of biting and licking, the boy was fundamentally a good person; those eccentricities were merely a result of his upbringing within the wolf pack.
As the son of the Wolf King and a Teqin of the prairie, he might one day carve out his own destiny once the old Wolf King passed away. Gu Chengyan knew he didn’t have many years left, and in these remaining days, he wanted to teach Sahechena as much as he could about how to live as a human—a way to honor their meeting and companionship.
As for the matters of the Central Plains, Gu Chengyan felt there was no need to dwell on them. His lifespan was limited; rather than wasting it thinking of Ling Yu and those treacherous scoundrels, he would be better served by committing to memory the blue of Lake Kobdo, the pure white of the snow mountains, Sahechena, and all the lovely creatures of this land.
Thinking of the little wolves, Gu Chengyan couldn’t help but quicken his pace. “By the way, let’s see if we can buy some roasted meat from here to take back for them later.”
Sahechena pursed his lips. See? He knew it. His wife was perfect in every way, except for the fact that he cared far too much for those subordinates of his. They had traveled far to conquer and hunt, and they hadn’t even had a proper meal themselves, yet Gu Chengyan was already thinking about sharing their food with others.
“That is fine, but only if you eat first,” he muttered.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Gu Chengyan coaxed with a laugh. “I know, I know.”
The two walked hand-in-hand as the sun began to dip behind the mountains. Over at the great market, bonfires had already been lit, painting the distance a fiery red.
“So much smoke…” Gu Chengyan remarked, then suddenly realized something was wrong: Smoke? Why would a normal campfire produce such thick smoke?
He exchanged a look with Sahechena, both of them reading the same message in each other’s eyes: Something is wrong.
Living together for this long had fostered a silent understanding. They immediately picked up their pace toward the tents, but before they had gone far, a commotion erupted from the direction of the market: the neighing of stallions, the crying of children, and the shrill screams of women.
“Thief! Catch the thief!” several merchants shouted, chasing after someone, followed by warriors armed with torches, bows, and curved blades.
Running in the lead was a youth clad from head to toe in dark blue felt robes, his face smeared with black mud, making it difficult to discern his features. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, not very tall, but agile and swift, carrying a bulging pack on his back.
Seeing the chaos, Sahechena worried that Gu Chengyan might get hurt, so he moved to shield him.
The youth dodged and weaved, and in his desperate flight, he spotted their large white horse tied behind the tent. Without a second thought, he sliced the reins and jumped on.
Sahechena’s face darkened instantly—he knew how much Gu Chengyan doted on that white horse. If it hadn’t saved Gu Chengyan so many times, he would have loved to eat it. Wuwu never touched his hair or fed him with such affection!
“Ah Bai—!” Gu Chengyan cried out in distress.
Listen to that! Sahechena puffed out his cheeks. Calling it so affectionately, and giving it such a nice nickname.
He sighed, turned to hug Gu Chengyan, then let him go and patted his shoulder. “Wuwu, wait here obediently.”
Before Gu Chengyan could respond, Sahechena grabbed a stray horse and gave chase.
“Eh?”
Gu Chengyan hurried to toss the remaining bag of gold coins to the horse’s owner, offered a hasty explanation, and mounted the chestnut horse to follow.
One should not chase a cornered beast, he thought. The little wolf cub was impulsive; if he rushed in without assessing the situation, what if the thief was part of a group with accomplices waiting? He would be walking into a trap, fighting a crowd alone.
Gu Chengyan’s chestnut horse was meant for pulling carts and lacked the speed of the other horses, making the pursuit a slow one. Fortunately, his years of experience in military campaigns and tracking enemies allowed him to find the pair, who had tumbled into the grass in a wrestling match.
The thieving youth was being pinned down by Sahechena, but he refused to give up, using everything within reach grabbing a handful of mud and smearing it into Sahechena’s eyes.
Fearing Sahechena might suffer, Gu Chengyan drew his bow and aimed at the thief. “Stop!”
Seeing the thief still trying to ambush him, Gu Chengyan loosed an arrow, carefully angling it to graze the side of the boy’s neck as a warning.
Feeling the sting of the shallow cut, the thief finally stopped. He looked indignant, holding his tongue until he finally shouted: “You bully me with numbers! I don’t accept this!”
Gu Chengyan huffed a laugh. “A horse thief can be killed; those are the rules of the prairie. It doesn’t matter if you accept it or not.”
Sahechena’s eyes flashed with a cold light, and he reached out to snap the boy’s neck.
“I didn’t mean to steal the horse!” the youth cried out. “If you hadn’t chased me, I would have set the horse free after I got away! Check for yourselves if you don’t believe me!”
At these words, Gu Chengyan looked down at the items scattered on the ground due to the struggle; most were food, along with a small amount of medicine. It wasn’t valuable, but it was essential for survival.
“I am truly not a horse thief!” The youth rolled his eyes and softened his tone. “I did it to save my mother! My father died early, my mother is gravely ill, and my younger brother is starving at home…”
Gu Chengyan said nothing, looking at him thoughtfully.
“Your horse is right here. Won’t you tell your ‘Black Bone’ to let me go?” The youth offered a ingratiating smile. “I didn’t even steal your things.”
Upon hearing the term “Black Bone,” a sharp glint appeared in Gu Chengyan’s eyes: he finally realized what was wrong although the youth’s felt robe was worn, the boots on his feet were made of top-grade, fine-grain calfskin. He claimed his family was destitute and someone was sick, but the medicine on the ground was clearly grabbed at random—a mix of internal and external remedies for all sorts of ailments.
He had only been suspicious before, but the mention of “Black Bone” confirmed it.
Gu Chengyan curled the corner of his lips. “And to which tribe of ‘White Bones’ do you belong, then?”
The youth blinked, seemingly caught off guard by the counter-question. After a moment, he replied, “I am a commoner; not a White Bone…”
Sahechena watched them, unable to help himself. “What is a ‘Black Bone’?”
Gu Chengyan: “…” It’s a derogatory term, you little simpleton.
He gave Sahechena a glare, implying he shouldn’t add to the chaos.
But Sahechena was persistent. “Then… what about a White Bone?”
“White Bones are naturally the noble aristocracy, you blockhead.” This time, it was the youth who couldn’t resist interjecting.
Sahechena glared at him with ill intent, and Gu Chengyan turned cold. “And what about you, then, ‘noble’ little young master? Did your elders in the ‘Three Upper Tribes’ never teach you manners?”
The youth froze, realizing his slip of the tongue. The term “Black Bone” was used by the Rongdi aristocracy to refer to slaves. As the Rongdi revered the color white, the term “White Bones” referred to the nobility, specifically the old families who thought too highly of themselves. Temur-Bagan had once told Gu Chengyan that all Rongdi tribes originally bore the name Bayan, only dividing later into the current twelve Zhai King tribes. Among them, the Akniet, Balasi, and Nayale tribes were the closest to the Bayan, and thus were honored as the “Three Upper Tribes.”
“Aren’t you nobles of the Three Upper Tribes the proudest of your fine bloodlines, claiming to be the true Rongdi warriors?”
Gu Chengyan gave a faint smile and turned to Sahechena. “No need to kill him. Let’s bind him up and take him back; let everyone have a good look at this ‘noble thief.'”
The youth’s expression finally crumbled. He had snuck out for fun, wanting to prove himself to his father, the King. If he were to be dragged back like this, how could he show his face?
He shouted, “Two of you against one! I don’t accept this! I challenge you to a single-rider duel!”
A single-rider duel was a special rule of combat on the prairie. To Gu Chengyan, it was akin to a duel in the martial arts world: regardless of whether the challenger was a slave or an enemy, if they won one-on-one, they had to be set free.
The youth thought he was clever, selecting the slightly slimmer Gu Chengyan from the two, certain he could win.
Instead, Gu Chengyan used a single grappling move to pin him to the ground. The youth was utterly humiliated, struggling in vain as he demanded: “Who, who on earth are you?!”
Gu Chengyan stayed silent, but Sahechena proudly raised his chin beside him. “He is my Wuwu!”
Wuwu…?
The youth’s eyes widened in horror, his face flushing deep red. Isn’t “Wuwu”… isn’t that what the King calls his favorite consort when they are in… you know?
By then, the merchants and warriors from the great market had arrived one after another. Seeing the youth pinned to the ground by Gu Chengyan, they rushed forward to assist. The elder leading them recognized the youth under the light of the torches: “Is this not Mu-Yin of the Nayale tribe? What are you…?”
The Nayale were one of the Three Upper Tribes of the Rongdi, known for producing heroes. Their name meant “the most loyal and intimate allies.” Hearing that the youth was from the Nayale, the pursuing merchants felt a pang of regret; the elder was even more frustrated and disappointed. “You have everything you need; why would you resort to stealing?!”
The youth held his neck high and said nothing. With no other choice, the group bound him to take him back and wait for the Nayale King to decide what to do.
After Mu-Yin was led away, several merchants, wanting to show their gratitude, gifted Gu Chengyan many extra things at the campfire party. Gu Chengyan was overwhelmed, and by the time he finally finished accepting the items, he turned around to find that Sahechena had vanished.
He returned to their tent with his haul, only to unexpectedly find the little fellow squatting in a corner, acting suspiciously. He set his things down and tiptoed over. “What are you looking at? Why are you so engross…”
Before he could finish the word “engrossed,” Sahechena turned around, gave him a strange look, and made a shushing gesture.
At the same time, from some hidden corner outside the tent, came the sound of passionate, low gasps, accompanied by a woman’s soft, delicate whimpering.
Gu Chengyan choked. He cast a hurried glance in the direction of the sound and caught sight of two figures intertwined in the woods behind their tent. The young couple was being wild, utterly shameless as they took to the open field, their intimate sounds growing louder and louder.
Gu Chengyan was so mortified he turned to pull Sahechena away, only to find the boy staring intensely at the couple, his eyes burning with a sudden, dawning realization.
“…” He was torn between anger and amusement, unable to resist poking Sahechena’s finger. “Little pervert.”
Sahechena scratched his head as he stood up. Watching Gu Chengyan’s back, he finally understood: So that is how you poke and prod to get it in.
No wonder, he thought, no wonder Wuwu hasn’t had any little wolves after all this time.