After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 24

Li Chanxiu’s heartbeat fell out of rhythm. With his body stiff, he was tightly held in the other’s arms.

Pei Er seemed to be naturally warm-bodied, or perhaps because he practiced martial arts and had vigorous internal heat. Not long after getting into the quilt, he had already warmed it up.

His body was lean and solid, his arms especially strong. It was impossible to associate this with how, during the day when he wore clothes, he actually looked slender and thin.

Li Chanxiu was tightly hugged by him, almost as if lying against his chest. He tried to break free, but felt the other’s arms were as firm as iron, warm iron.

He really was extremely strong… Suddenly, Li Chanxiu’s mind flashed with the sentence Aunt Xu had said not long ago: “I think that Pei Er is very strong. At night you might even need strength.”

His ears suddenly grew hot, his heart filled with embarrassment.

When he first heard Aunt Xu say it, Li Chanxiu truly hadn’t reacted. But later, seeing the ambiguous smile on her face, how could he still not understand the meaning?

…Wait, why was he thinking about this? Pei Er was a man, and he himself was also a man. No matter how strong the other was, what did it have to do with him?

Besides, they were only in a fake marriage.

Li Chanxiu hurriedly shook his head inwardly, driving these messy thoughts away. Then he began practicing his breathing method again, trying to warm himself up and also calm himself down.

Once his hands and feet became warm, Pei Er should let go of him, right?

Thinking this, Li Chanxiu silently practiced in the darkness. But the Pei Er beside him was like a human-shaped heater, his long arms and legs firmly encircling him. He was forced to cling tightly against the other’s burning chest, hearing heartbeats in his ear that seemed heavier with every thump.

Without even needing the breathing method, his body soon warmed up from the heat. Reason told him this was improper, but on such a cold winter night, the only warm thing was the embrace beside him. His instincts couldn’t help being tempted.

It must be because Pei Er practiced martial arts often and had vigorous internal heat. Who knew how this person had trained before losing his memory, his hands, feet, and chest were all scorching hot.

Li Chanxiu kept his body stiff, forcing himself to continue practicing. Yet suddenly he thought of the wandering physician from his dream who had once joked with him, saying that this breathing method worked even better for people who practiced martial arts. If he wanted to completely eliminate the cold poison, he might as well find someone who practiced martial arts to train with, and then perform the rites of Zhou Gong with them, letting their qi and blood merge. After doing it several more times…

No, why was he thinking about all these messy things tonight?

Li Chanxiu’s ears burned again, and his face grew slightly hot, even though he had been freezing earlier.

It must be because of today’s wedding; everyone had teased him too much.

He quickly shut his eyes tightly and simply stopped practicing the breathing method. Just like this, tightly hugged and pressed against Pei Er’s burning embrace, he continuously drove away stray thoughts and forced himself to fall asleep.

When his breathing gradually became steady, Pei Er, in the darkness, opened his eyes instead.

Noticing the stiff body in his arms gradually relax, Pei Er let out a faint sigh of relief. Then he lowered his head to look at the person who had already fallen asleep.

Although the room was too dark and he could only see a vague outline, Pei Er’s heart was still filled with satisfaction, his gaze lightly tracing along the silhouette.

Tonight he had pretended to be drunk so that he would dare to say those foolish-sounding words without blushing or his heart pounding. In truth, how could he not understand what Miss Shen meant by a fake marriage? It was just that…

Pei Er closed his eyes and gently rubbed his chin against the top of Li Chanxiu’s head, unable to resist hugging the person in his arms a little tighter.

It was just that if it hadn’t been like that, how would he have had the chance to marry Miss Shen? It would have been even more impossible to hold her tightly like this now.

But Miss Shen was still too thin. Pei Er thought to himself that he needed to work hard to earn money and buy more food for her to nourish herself. The house also needed to add some things, such as a charcoal brazier. But he had heard charcoal was very expensive…

In the darkness, his thoughts wandered aimlessly. Later on, Pei Er even couldn’t help thinking that in the future… if one day they had children, the expenses would only grow larger. It wouldn’t be good to let Miss Shen and the child suffer together with him.

He wondered whether there were other ways to earn money besides receiving military pay.

…

The next morning, when several crowing sounds from the chickens next door came through, Pei Er opened his eyes.

Morning light had already filtered through the paper-covered window. He lowered his head to look at the person in his arms.

Li Chanxiu had not yet woken. His sleeping face was peaceful, his long eyelashes casting a small patch of shadow beneath his eyes, his jet-black long hair falling beside the pillow.

Perhaps because he hadn’t slept so comfortably and warmly in a long time, the corners of his lips curved slightly, his expression seeming satisfied.

Pei Er’s dark eyes gazed fixedly for a long while, his gaze unconsciously softening.

Suddenly he thought of something. He gently extended an arm from under the quilt and, with one hand, tied his own hair together with a strand from the end of Li Chanxiu’s hair. Then he took the black iron curved blade that he always kept beside the bed and never far from himself, and carefully cut off a small section of the two strands of hair that had been tied together.

He had heard from Physician Hu that this was called tying hair to become husband and wife.

But no matter how careful his movements were, he still disturbed Li Chanxiu. Seeing his eyelashes suddenly tremble as if he were about to open his eyes, Pei Er quickly clenched the two strands of hair in his palm and put the blade back.

Fortunately he moved quickly. Otherwise, on the second morning after the wedding, if the “bride” saw the groom holding a blade at the bedside, no matter how one thought about it, it would be terrifying.

As soon as Li Chanxiu opened his eyes, he saw that the panic had not yet faded from Pei Er’s expression, as if he had done something guilty. Subconsciously he asked, “What are you doing?”

“Mm, nothing.” Pei Er clenched the hair and hid it behind his back, stammering as he said, “It’s dawn. I should get up.”

After saying this, he got up. Afraid that Li Chanxiu would be chilled, he deliberately did not lift the quilt, but carefully slipped out from under it and then tucked the corners of the quilt back in.

After getting out of bed, he quickly put on his clothes, taking the opportunity to hide the hair as well.

After Li Chanxiu came back to his senses, the first thing he did was touch his neck. Fortunately, the fake skin covering his Adam’s apple was still there.

Although his foundation had been ruined by the cold poison while he was still in the womb, causing him to be weak from birth and making his outward appearance not robust, his Adam’s apple was not as obvious as that of many men, but it was not nonexistent. Especially as he grew older, it had gradually become more apparent, which was why his father had used this method to help him conceal it.

Just now, seeing Pei Er panic like that, he had thought he himself had been exposed and frightened the other.

After Pei Er finished dressing, he told him to sleep a little longer while he went to prepare food.

Neither of them had parents or elders, so on the first day after marriage they did not need to see anyone. They could sleep as long as they wanted.

But Li Chanxiu did not sleep again. He was used to waking early, and besides, after Pei Er got up, the bedding quickly grew cold.

After washing up, Li Chanxiu went to the kitchen to help, but Pei Er had already finished.

For breakfast they ate the leftover dishes from last night’s wedding banquet. Pei Er reheated the dishes, then cooked half a small pot of thin porridge and warmed several coarse-grain steamed buns.

Although it was simple and rough food, the two of them stood by the stove eating together, with the lingering warmth from the firebox. It actually gave the illusion of an ordinary young couple living their daily life together.

Pei Er was clearly in a good mood. Seeing the golden eagle that had been released to wander around the courtyard suddenly poke its head in through the doorway, he even picked up a few slices of meat from his bowl and tossed them over.

The eagle was sensible and quickly caught them and swallowed them.

Seeing this, Li Chanxiu could not help laughing softly. He secretly thought: This eagle seems somewhat able to understand human nature. Could it be that I was mistaken before, perhaps it is actually raised by someone?

As he was thinking this, he suddenly sensed a gaze falling on his face and unconsciously looked up.

Sure enough, Pei Er was looking at him.

He could not help raising his hand to touch the side of his face and asked, “Is there something on my face?”

Pei Er quickly shook his head and picked up a few slices of meat to put in his bowl, trying to cover it up.

“General Chen said yesterday that since I just got married, he’s giving me three days off. I don’t need to go to the military camp these few days,” he said. After a pause, he hesitated and then asked, “Do you have anything to do today?”

Li Chanxiu frowned slightly. Coincidentally, Physician Hu had also told him to rest for three days and that he did not need to go to the pharmacy recently.

In the wounded soldiers’ camp, aside from Zhang He, the others’ injuries were not serious, so there was no need for him to check on them every day. Besides, Physician Hu was still there. As for Zhang He, if anything really happened, Zhang Hu would come to find him.

Looking at it this way, after getting married, he had indeed suddenly become free.

Li Chanxiu actually wanted to find an opportunity to make a trip to the nearby city and leave some markers. That way, when his father’s people searched nearby, they would be able to find him more quickly.

After all, in this area there were many garrisons like Yongfeng Town. His father’s people did not know which one he had been exiled to. Even if they reached the nearby county city, they would probably still need to search for some time.

But there was temporarily no need for the army to purchase medicinal herbs, and he had only recently been transferred to the pharmacy. On top of that, he had just gotten married. For the time being he could not find an excuse, and the timing was not suitable.

While he was thinking, Pei Er kept watching him. When his gaze fell on Li Chanxiu’s somewhat thin chin, he subconsciously remembered that the body he had held in his arms last night had also been slender, but supple…

Pei Er’s ears suddenly reddened slightly. He gave a light cough to cover it up, then said, “Since there’s nothing to do anyway, I want to go into the mountains to hunt some game. Do you want to come along?”

For the moment he had no money, so he could only go into the mountains to hunt some game to nourish Miss Shen’s body.

Li Chanxiu’s eyes brightened slightly at these words, and he asked, “Is that allowed?”

His status was that of a criminal’s family member. Even though after marriage he could move out of the military camp, he still could not wander around freely. For example, if he wanted to go to the county city, he definitely could not go alone and would need a soldier responsible for guarding them from the camp to accompany him.

Pei Er quickly nodded and said, “It’s allowed. I already told General Chen.”

After saying this, he also thought of Li Chanxiu’s status as a criminal’s family member. Previously he had asked Chen Qing about methods to remove that status, so now he subconsciously promised, “Don’t worry. In the future I will definitely work hard killing enemies and earning merit, and help you leave the criminal registry as soon as possible.”

Hearing this, Li Chanxiu was slightly stunned. From last night until now, he suddenly realized something, Pei Er might, perhaps, possi…

Before he finished the thought, he heard Pei Er say again, “Don’t think too much. I don’t mean anything else. It’s just because you saved my life before, and I want to repay you.”

So that was the reason. Li Chanxiu unconsciously let out a breath of relief. The thought that had not yet fully taken shape just now was scattered by these words.

After breakfast, the two of them prepared to go out.

Before leaving, Pei Er shut the golden eagle that was still wandering around the courtyard for fresh air back inside.

Seeing that it was about to be locked into the dark room again, the eagle could not help flapping its injured wings that could not fly, its sharp round eyes glaring fiercely at Pei Er, as if conveying anger, protest, and dissatisfaction.

But Pei Er was expressionless. He pushed it into the room with his foot and then ruthlessly closed the door and locked it.

Then he and Li Chanxiu rode the same horse up the mountain, ignoring the golden eagle’s head that had been forcibly squeezed out through the window crack and its furious, wide glaring eagle eyes.

The mountains in winter were desolate, covered everywhere with accumulated snow, with not much game. Occasionally one or two wild chickens or rabbits would be startled out.

Pei Er and Li Chanxiu rode slowly together on horseback on a nearby small mountain. After making one round, they unexpectedly gained quite a lot, shooting two wild chickens and three rabbits.

One of the wild chickens had even been shot while Pei Er held Li Chanxiu’s hand. Naturally, nominally it was because Pei Er said he wanted to teach Li Chanxiu archery.

For the first eighteen years of his life, Li Chanxiu had been confined with his father in the northern courtyard of the Crown Prince’s residence. In reality, he had naturally never shot arrows. But just like how he could ride horses and suture wounds, because in his dreams he later knew how, the current him somehow also knew how.

However, “Shen Xiu” was a delicate young lady who had been bedridden for years. Borrowing this identity, it was acceptable if he knew how to ride a horse, but if he knew how to shoot arrows… it might reveal too much.

So he pretended he did not know. As a result, Pei Er stood behind him, encircling him and holding his hands, teaching him hand in hand.

In his dreams, Li Chanxiu had learned archery purely out of the need to survive. After using it often in dangerous situations, he naturally came to know how. But when Pei Er held his hands and taught him hand in hand, he was a little unsure whether this was how others usually taught archery.

But Pei Er had lost his memory. Perhaps the other also did not know, and simply felt that teaching like this was more convenient.

It was just that they were too close. Li Chanxiu still felt somewhat uncomfortable. After shooting one wild chicken, he did not shoot again.

Even so, the two of them still gained quite a lot.

When they returned to the small courtyard, Pei Er went to the kitchen to boil water, the joy in his black eyes impossible to conceal. He planned to scald the feathers off the wild chickens first.

Li Chanxiu also wanted to go in to help, but Pei Er said there was no need and told him to rest first.

Just in time, Li Chanxiu had also cut some mulberry root bark on the mountain today and planned to make some more mulberry-bark thread. Hearing this, he did not insist and turned back to the room to work.

After Pei Er finished boiling the hot water, he carried the two wild chickens into the courtyard, first plucking the feathers from the necks, then using a blade to let the blood, and then scalding the feathers with hot water.

Once they were cleaned, he swung the blade in the courtyard and chopped the prepared chickens into pieces.

That golden eagle had also been released to wander after they returned, and was now pacing behind Pei Er.

Pei Er ignored it, his eyes only on the wild chickens before him, thinking to himself: Two chickens, it wouldn’t be good to stew them both.

After thinking for a moment, he cut off the tender meat from the breast of one chicken.

His subconscious told him that this part was the best meat on the wild chicken. He planned to make another dish with it for Li Chanxiu to eat.

When the golden eagle saw the sliced pieces of meat, its round eyes blinked. It suddenly lifted its head high, looking proud and arrogant, turning its back to Pei Er.

After a while, seeing that Pei Er had no reaction, it turned back and paced a couple of steps in place. Seeing that Pei Er still had no reaction, it finally gave up its arrogance, lowered its proud head, pecked once into the basin, and snatched away a piece of the tender meat, swallowing it in one gulp.

Pei Er soon cut another piece, and it snatched another piece. Then as Pei Er cut, it snatched from the side.

By the time Pei Er finished cutting and turned his head, his gaze collided directly with the golden eagle that had just taken the last piece of tender meat.

The golden eagle gulped down the meat with a “gulu,” its two round eyes meeting his. Its naturally fierce eyes now seemed to carry a bit of innocence.

Pei Er stiffened for a moment, then took a deep breath and slowly lowered his head to look at the wooden basin on the ground that had held the chicken meat, 

The hand holding the blade suddenly tightened, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.