Pei Er not mentioning it almost made Li Chanxiu forget about it. When he had been gathered into the other’s arms just now, he indeed felt hotter than usual and had also developed a reaction, it was indeed because he had inhaled some of the medicinal powder from the other’s clothes.
But perhaps because he hadn’t inhaled much, or perhaps because his hands were too tired and his mind had gradually gone numb, so he didn’t think further…
After all, when a person is working and very tired, there’s no time to think about anything else. On top of that, he had just washed his hands with snow and had blown in the cold wind for a while; the heat on his face had already subsided quite a bit.
In any case, if he endured it, it would pass.
He couldn’t possibly be like Pei Er, then he would be exposed immediately.
Li Chanxiu thought blankly, shook his head, and said he was fine. Then he let the water cool before drinking it little by little.
After drinking the cool water, he indeed felt somewhat better and tried to steady his breathing.
Pei Er’s pair of black eyes hesitated, still carrying concern. He knew that as a man, asking Miss Shen like that just now was truly improper.
But he had seen that her complexion was off, it was clearly the same as his own condition, just not as severe.
He couldn’t help worrying about her.
Li Chanxiu tried his best to act as if nothing was wrong, but Pei Er’s eager, concerned gaze was truly hard to ignore.
The more he tried not to pay attention, the more unnatural he felt under that gaze. The heat that had just been blown away by the cold wind gradually rose again, his blood and qi stirring slightly.
He had no choice but to take a deep breath and brace himself to say, “We… women… are different from you men. It’s just… ahem, we don’t need to be like you were just now.”
After speaking, he couldn’t help coughing again. Finally, Pei Er’s gaze shifted away, and only then did he let out a light breath.
Xuanping and Zhang Hu still hadn’t arrived.
At night, the two sat by the fire to keep warm.
Li Chanxiu had always been afraid of the cold, but tonight he didn’t feel cold. Especially after dozing off in a haze, his body finally couldn’t resist his will any longer and instinctively leaned toward the person beside him.
Pei Er sensed him leaning over and his body suddenly stiffened. The hand holding the fire stick paused, and he stopped tending the fire.
At first, Li Chanxiu only leaned lightly against him, but gradually seemed unsatisfied. Suddenly, he reached out to wrap his arms around him, his cheek brushing against the other’s profile.
Pei Er, though naturally warm-bodied, had his face blown by the cold wind for a long time and it was somewhat cool. Li Chanxiu’s face, however, was warm; rubbing against that slightly cool cheek, he couldn’t help but let out a comfortable sigh. Then, like a cat, he lay entirely in his arms, nudging against him, his legs moving restlessly.
Pei Er finally couldn’t restrain himself. He suddenly threw away the fire stick and fiercely pulled him into his arms, tightly locking an arm around his waist.
Fortunately, the northwest was cold, and winter clothing was thick, so he didn’t notice anything strange.
His large hand pressed against the back of the head of the person in his arms who was moving about, but after stiffening for a moment, he ultimately didn’t dare to kiss him. In the end, he only pressed the cooler side of his face against the burning cheek of the person in his arms.
Li Chanxiu lightly closed his eyes and let out a soft, comfortable sigh. After moving a little, he opened his mouth as if wanting to lightly bite his cheek. Remembering that his own face wasn’t clean, Pei Er quickly turned his head, only to have his ear bitten.
The person in his arms didn’t use force, like a kitten, after nibbling, he released it, his tongue lightly brushing over the earlobe, letting out a dissatisfied hum.
Pei Er’s breathing faltered slightly; he only felt that the medicine hadn’t been resolved at all.
He endured and endured, but finally couldn’t hold back. Lowering his head, he kissed the side of the person’s face and his temples, lightly clasping the other’s five fingers.
He held the other’s hand tightly, lowered his head to kiss the fingertips, recalling how those hands had held him not long ago. His heart trembled uncontrollably, and he suddenly tightened his embrace even more.
Li Chanxiu panted lightly in his arms, gave a muffled hum, and gradually quieted down. It was as if he suddenly had no bones, leaning softly against Pei Er. In the wind, only the sound of their breathing remained.
…
By the time Xuanping and Zhang Hu led people to find them, it was already close to midnight.
When the group arrived, they saw Pei Er sitting by the fire, holding Li Chanxiu tightly in his arms. Li Chanxiu’s profile was slightly red in the firelight, sleeping peacefully.
Xuanping and Zhang Hu were both stunned. Third Boss directly said in a loud voice, “I told you they were both fine, ”
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly received a cold glance from Pei Er.
Third Boss choked, instantly falling silent, unable to help thinking: This cold-faced brat is sometimes even more frightening than Second Boss.
Zhang Hu quickly stepped forward. His voice was lowered, but he said, “Centurion, the mountain night is cold. Should we wake Miss Shen and head back to rest?”
Pei Er glanced at him and said nothing. He directly stood up with Li Chanxiu in his arms. After briefly setting him down on a large rock, he turned and hoisted him onto his back, quickly saying, “Let’s go.”
He added, “Keep the noise down.”
Everyone: “……”
Xuanping: “……” Fortunately, his earlier attempt to trick his elder brother into marrying Miss Shen hadn’t succeeded. Otherwise, snatching food from a tiger’s mouth wouldn’t be easy.
The group held torches and hurried back to the stronghold.
Li Chanxiu had probably been too tired during the day and had gone through quite an ordeal at night, so he slept deeply the whole way. Occasionally, when the cold mountain wind blew, he buried his head into Pei Er’s neck and nuzzled lightly.
Pei Er’s back tensed. It was hard to imagine that Miss Shen, who was so intelligent and calm when awake, would be this… cute and clingy when asleep.
If she fell in love with him… wouldn’t she cling to him like this every day, like a kitten?
Pei Er trudged up the mountain path, imagining the scene. His heart couldn’t help but heat up, and he felt that the medicine… might never be resolved in this lifetime.
***
Li Chanxiu slept until nearly noon before waking. When he opened his eyes and found himself lying in a simply yet elegantly decorated room, he was stunned for a moment.
Then he realized he was lying on a bed. His expression changed slightly as he quickly sat up, pressing both hands to his chest… fortunately, his clothes were neat, no one had helped him undress.
He immediately let out a breath of relief, thinking he hadn’t been exposed. But soon, sensing a trace of coolness, his expression changed again, becoming awkward and strange.
Then, some memories from last night returned. His fair face gradually flushed, quickly turning red enough to drip blood. Last night, muddled as he had been, he had actually helped Pei Er… and more than that, after he had fallen asleep, in his half-conscious state, it seemed he had still been on him…
In truth, Li Chanxiu didn’t remember clearly what happened by the fire afterward. He only vaguely felt that in that half-dream state, he seemed to be holding someone, and later his hand was clasped by the other, while he himself leaned against him…
Li Chanxiu’s face grew hotter and hotter. If that wasn’t a dream, then when he had been holding Pei Er, had he been rubbing against… No, now wasn’t the time to be embarrassed. The real question was, if that wasn’t a dream, had Pei Er noticed that he actually…
“Pa!” Li Chanxiu shut his eyes and suddenly raised his hand to slap his forehead, his expression pained.
How could it not be embarrassing!
Especially since he now very much, urgently, desperately needed to change into a new pair of underpants. Li Chanxiu’s face went blank; he even had the urge to die.
He suddenly fell backward, lying weakly back on the bed, expressionless, thinking in self-abandonment: If it’s exposed, then it’s exposed. What kind of death isn’t still death?
Right now, he didn’t want to think about anything at all. Not one bit did he want to recall it.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Li Chanxiu was slightly startled. He quickly pulled the blanket over himself, covering tightly, leaving only his eyes exposed.
A woman’s voice soon came from outside: “Miss Shen, are you awake?”
Li Chanxiu relaxed slightly, then pulled the blanket down and coughed lightly, saying, “I’m awake.”
Only after speaking did he realize his voice was hoarse, probably because he had caught a bit of a chill last night.
The woman outside soon entered, holding a set of inner garments.
Li Chanxiu’s expression stiffened noticeably, and he asked with difficulty, “This is…”
Could it be that Pei Er had asked for it to be sent? Did he really notice something last night?
“It was ordered by Second Boss,” the woman quickly explained with a smile. “He said you and Young Master Pei went through a fight yesterday, especially Young Master Pei, covered in dust and blood. After waking, you might need to bathe, so he asked me to prepare clothes for both of you. They’re all new, though I don’t know if the sizes will fit.”
Li Chanxiu immediately let out a sigh of relief. But after thinking a bit, he still felt uneasy and asked, “Pei Er, I mean Young Master Pei, he didn’t mention anything? Where is he now? Did he…”
Forget it. Even if Pei Er had discovered he was a man and showed something unusual, the woman in front of him might not know.
Thinking this, he didn’t continue asking, though his brows still faintly furrowed.
The woman misunderstood, thinking he was worried about and missing Pei Er, and couldn’t help but smile. “Young Master Pei didn’t mention anything. He’s probably in the stronghold and didn’t want to trouble us. He went early this morning to reorganize the troops. He just came by to see you, but since you hadn’t woken up, he went back to work. He’ll probably come again later, so don’t worry.”
Li Chanxiu: “…Oh.”
He nodded in thanks, thinking numbly: No rush. Better if he comes later.
For now, he truly didn’t know how to face Pei Er.
After putting down the clothes, the woman soon had someone bring in hot water.
Li Chanxiu had rolled in dust on the cliff yesterday, and at night… in any case, he indeed urgently needed a bath, so he didn’t refuse.
After bathing and changing clothes, he finally felt much refreshed.
He walked over and pushed open the door, only to unexpectedly meet a pair of dark eyes when he looked up.
Pei Er was just outside the door, his hand raised, about to knock.
Seeing him, Pei Er also clearly froze for a moment, his raised hand pausing midair.
Li Chanxiu had just bathed, his hair still damp, hanging loose down his back. His pale cheeks were tinged with a faint red from the steam, and his usually cool, beautiful eyes seemed misted over, hazy and soft.
Pei Er couldn’t help recalling last night’s scene. His face suddenly reddened slightly, his ears heating up as he lowered his lashes.
After a moment, he couldn’t help but raise them again and cough lightly. “I heard you were awake, so I came to take a look.”
After speaking, he felt nervous. Would Miss Shen distance herself from him because of last night?
He was nervous, and Li Chanxiu was just as nervous.
He carefully observed Pei Er’s expression. It didn’t seem like he knew his secret, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved.
But after thinking about it, he still wasn’t entirely sure. He coughed lightly and probed, “Last night, after I… fell asleep…”
As soon as he spoke, Pei Er’s ears grew even redder.
Li Chanxiu completely relaxed, Pei Er really didn’t know. Otherwise, he would be shocked, not embarrassed and blushing.
He quickly coughed lightly and apologized, “Sorry, last night I was affected by the medicine…”
Pei Er hurriedly shook his head and said softly, “I should be the one apologizing.”
Only he himself knew that last night, he had actually… used a bit of scheming.
Hearing this, Li Chanxiu became even more certain that he didn’t know.
But early in the morning, no, almost noon, meeting for the first time after waking and standing at the doorway apologizing to each other was truly awkward.
Li Chanxiu quickly changed the subject and asked if he had come to find him for something.
Pei Er had only rushed over as soon as he heard he was awake, he didn’t actually have anything to do.
Fortunately, the woman from before came again. Seeing the two standing at the doorway, she smiled and said, “Neither of you has eaten breakfast yet. Should I have someone bring it over, or…”
Hearing this, afraid it would be even more awkward to eat alone with Pei Er, Li Chanxiu quickly interrupted, “No need to bring it here, we’ll go eat.”
The woman quickly agreed with a smile.
Li Chanxiu was just about to go out when, in the next moment, Pei Er grabbed him.
He paused and turned his head to look at him in confusion.
Pei Er coughed lightly. “Your hair isn’t dry.”
As he spoke, he went to fetch a cloth towel and carefully dried Li Chanxiu’s hair little by little. Once it was completely dry, he tied it up, and only then did he take Li Chanxiu with him to the kitchen.
Because the government troops were still on the mountain, the East stronghold had prepared a large communal meal today.
By the time Pei Er arrived, most people had already eaten, and there wasn’t much food left.
But when he took Li Chanxiu to get food, the cook actually brought out another basin of dishes, chuckling. “I remembered you hadn’t come yet, so I specially saved a fresh basin for you.”
As he spoke, he used an iron ladle to scoop a large portion for each of them.
He was the very cook whom Pei Er had saved before. After serving the food, he couldn’t help but add, “I didn’t expect you to be a centurion. Yesterday morning’s food was ordinary, we treated you poorly. I’m truly sorry.”
Pei Er was carefully staring at his iron ladle, trying to see if there were any dents. Hearing this, he shook his head and said casually, “No, yesterday’s food was very good.”
Li Chanxiu thought the cook was just being modest and said, “Yesterday’s breakfast was very abundant, chicken, duck, fish, everything. You’re too polite.”
Hearing this, the cook paused with his ladle and let out an “Ah,” saying, “Those dishes were served to you?”
Not far away, Third Boss, who for some reason had come late and was also eating, paused with his chopsticks and suddenly looked up. After a long while, he cast a gloomy glance at Xuanping sitting opposite him.
Xuanping was lowering his head, shoveling food into his mouth. After a while, noticing the gaze, he finally looked up. “Why are you looking at me? Is there food on my face?”
Third Boss didn’t say anything, lowered his head, and continued eating.
Li Chanxiu and Pei Er exchanged a glance, both feeling that something was off.
The more Third Boss ate, the more uncomfortable he felt. Finally, when Xuanping finished eating, he quickly put down his chopsticks as well and followed him out.
Since being exiled, Li Chanxiu had developed the habit of eating quickly. Before long, he finished as well and left together with Pei Er.
Halfway, Pei Er was stopped by Zhang Hu and paused to exchange a few words.
Li Chanxiu then walked ahead. As he passed by a courtyard gate, before he could go past, he suddenly heard voices coming from the other side of the wall, it sounded like Xuanping and Third Boss.
He wasn’t someone who liked eavesdropping. His steps paused, and he was about to retreat when, in the next moment, he heard Third Boss ask in a muffled tone: “So you didn’t eat those chicken, duck, and fish dishes yesterday morning?”
Xuanping’s voice sounded awkward. “I thought it was the people below being thoughtful and prepared it for Miss Shen and Physician Hu. How about this, I’ll compensate you with silver.”
Then he added, “No, wait, why did you have the kitchen make dishes for me when you had nothing to do?”
“No need to compensate, I…” Third Boss’s rough voice suddenly became bashful. “Wasn’t I just concerned about you? I… ahem, well, I thought you understood my meaning.”
Xuanping could understand, after all, Third Boss never hid it in daily life. But hearing this, his expression became extremely awkward; he simply couldn’t accept it.
Before, he had always avoided Third Boss. It was only because of yesterday’s battle that the two sides had grown closer, making it hard to keep avoiding him.
He couldn’t help wanting to persuade the other to give up sooner. But before he could speak, he heard Third Boss say bashfully again, “I know you’re used to being a man, so when we first met, after that fight, I came back and kept saying I liked men. You… didn’t you understand my meaning?”
Xuanping: “…Huh?”
He was dumbfounded, so shocked his mouth could fit a fist.
“I thought since you like being a man, I’d tell everyone I like men too. That way, after we’re together, you can still keep being a man without worrying, I…”
“No, wait!” Xuanping finally couldn’t help interrupting, his expression slightly twisted. “I am a man to begin with. What do you mean I like being a man?”
Third Boss froze, his scarred face full of disbelief. “You don’t have to fool me. I already know.”
Xuanping was about to collapse. “What exactly do you know? How could you think I’m, no, where do I look like a woman? What kind of eyes do you have?”
Third Boss’s scarred face turned red as he stammered, “Did you forget? When we first met, I tried to rob you and we fought. At that time, I accidentally pressed on your…”
As he spoke, he glanced at Xuanping. His voice lowered and became even more bashful. “Accidentally pressed your chest.”
Xuanping: “……”
His expression looked as if he had been struck by lightning. After a long pause, he couldn’t help grinding his teeth. “D*mn it, I had two hot buns tucked in my clothes at the time! What kind of brain do you have?!”
On the other side of the wall, Pei Er happened to walk over.
Li Chanxiu noticed and, not knowing what he thought of, hurriedly turned around and covered his ears.
Because he moved too quickly, he nearly fell into Pei Er’s arms.
Pei Er had just been about to ask what he was doing when he was suddenly “pounced on,” freezing on the spot.
Finally, the conversation next door ended, and footsteps sounded, as if someone was about to leave.
Afraid of being discovered, Li Chanxiu quickly pushed Pei Er, and the two stood at the corner. Because they had to hide, he pressed close to Pei Er, almost stuck against his chest, tilting his ear to listen.
Pei Er’s back was against the wall, his ears still covered. He couldn’t help lowering his head to look at Li Chanxiu’s profile, and couldn’t help recalling the scene of holding him in his arms last night.
Subconsciously, he raised his hand, paused stiffly, as if mustering courage, and slowly reached around Li Chanxiu.
But before he could encircle him, Li Chanxiu suddenly released him, stepped back, and let out a light breath.
Pei Er’s arm immediately wrapped around empty air. For a moment, he felt loss and regret, along with slight embarrassment. Afraid of being noticed, he quickly lowered it as if nothing had happened.
At that moment, Third Boss walked past the courtyard gate, looking utterly dejected, like a wandering ghost with only a breath left.
Pei Er: “……”
“What’s wrong with him?” Thinking that Li Chanxiu had likely been listening just now, he couldn’t help asking.
Li Chanxiu: “……”
He coughed lightly and asked, “You didn’t hear anything just now, right?”
After all, Xuanping’s “buns” line had been said through gritted teeth, and not quietly either.
Pei Er shook his head. “I had just arrived and you covered my ears.”
Li Chanxiu immediately relaxed. “That’s good.”
Better not let him know about it and be inspired to suspect him as well.
After all, since they had married, they’d had quite a few close contacts, especially last night. Li Chanxiu believed his disguise wasn’t perfect. Aside from his Adam’s apple being concealed, everything else could easily give him away.
Pei Er hadn’t thought in that direction before because he wasn’t very clever and had never heard of things like men dressing as women or women dressing as men. But if he happened to encounter such a case, it would be hard to guarantee he wouldn’t connect it to Li Chanxiu and begin to suspect.
But… buns could also be used for disguise? Before, he had only thought about whether to sew something stuffed with cotton.
***
After the stronghold was taken, what followed was handling the captives and the matter of accepting surrender.
By the afternoon, things were mostly settled, leaving only the valuables looted by the West stronghold yet to be counted.
Pei Er left some people behind to continue the tally and, together with Commandant Qian, escorted the captives and the surrendered bandits back to the military camp.
During this time, Lu Zhi rarely showed himself. This was inevitable, since Pei Er intended to secretly let him go, his identity couldn’t be exposed to the Yongding garrison soldiers like Commandant Qian.
Before leading the troops back to camp, Pei Er followed the agreement and released Lu Zhi.
The two sides parted at the foot of the mountain. Li Chanxiu happened to hand over the prepared antidote to Lu Zhi and explained how to use it.
After Lu Zhi took it, he smiled and expressed his thanks.
Then he looked toward Pei Er and carefully said, “As for the people in the stronghold, aside from those who have committed murder or are truly heinous criminals who will be executed, those who surrendered but haven’t committed major crimes will likely be sentenced to forced labor on the city walls. As for those who are recruited… people like Xuanping will probably all choose to join the army. They come from a bandit background, so they’ll inevitably face discrimination in the military. When the time comes… I hope Centurion Pei can look after them a bit. No need for special treatment, just that they be treated the same as the other soldiers.”
Pei Er responded in a low voice, “Don’t worry about that.”
Hearing this, Lu Zhi nodded in relief.
After a moment of silence, he smiled again and said, “Seems there’s nothing else to say, then I… will take my leave here.”
As he spoke, he cupped his hands toward the two of them.
Holding his riding crop, Pei Er returned the gesture.
Li Chanxiu’s gaze tightened slightly, as if he had something to say, but he hesitated.
At that moment, Lu Zhi happened to turn toward him. Suddenly, he bent down and gave a solemn bow, saying, “Many thanks to Miss Shen for saving me. If there’s a chance in the future, I will certainly repay the favor. As for some improper words I said before, they were influenced by Xuanping’s remarks, and I was momentarily muddleheaded. I hope the two of you won’t take offense.”
Since he was so open and frank, Li Chanxiu naturally wouldn’t say anything. Besides, he and Pei Er were only a fake husb… Suddenly, he recalled what happened last night, and his expression tightened slightly.
After that kind of experience, saying they were just a fake married couple now felt extremely guilty.
He quickly coughed lightly, diverting his attention, and asked Lu Zhi, “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Xuanping and the others?”
Lu Zhi shook his head. “Better not.”
If he said his farewells, he probably wouldn’t be able to leave.
“Oh, right, there’s one more thing.” Lu Zhi added with a smile at the end, “I had Xuanping bring you a gift. You should see it soon.”
After saying all this, he finally got up, dragged his injured leg, and climbed into the carriage.
Before leaving, he cupped his hands toward the two of them once more.
Pei Er and Li Chanxiu watched the carriage leave.
Lu Zhi seemed to sense it; he turned slightly and waved, indicating there was no need to see him off further.
Only after quite a while did Xuanping, Tan Yun, and the others come down from the mountain.
Xuanping had an excited expression and quickly walked up to Pei Er and Li Chanxiu, cupping his hands as he said, “Brother Pei Er, Miss Shen, there’s great news I want to tell you, my elder brother, he… eh? Where’s my elder brother?”
Li Chanxiu pointed at the carriage that had already gone far away, almost out of sight, and said, “He’s already left.”
And entrusted you all to the army.
“What?” Xuanping was shocked. He immediately grabbed a horse by the roadside and said urgently, “Quick! Tan Yun, come with me to chase after big brother!”
When Tan Yun and the others heard that Lu Zhi had left, their expressions changed as well. They hurriedly mounted their horses and chased after him together with Xuanping.
Because Lu Zhi was still carrying a wanted status, he didn’t want to drag Xuanping and the others down, so he chose to leave alone, hoping they would enter the military camp and from then on have a clean identity and live normal lives.
But Xuanping and the others clearly couldn’t accept this.
Li Chanxiu watched their departing figures and the trail of dust they stirred up, and said thoughtfully, “It seems Xuanping still hasn’t told us what the big gift Lu Zhi sent is.”
“So they’ll come back,” Pei Er said.
After saying that, he turned to look at Li Chanxiu and hesitated, “It seemed like you also had something you wanted to say to Lu Zhi earlier?”
Li Chanxiu smiled slightly and said, “We’ll talk about it after they come back.”
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