Chapter 41
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My… eyes are burning.
Gu Yuanbai was about to look away when he noticed a scar on Xue Yuan’s waist. It was a terrible knife wound, still visibly severe, indicating a near-fatal injury.
“How did this happen?” Gu Yuanbai frowned, wanting to know what could have caused such a grave injury to the story’s protagonist.
“I was born with it,” Xue Yuan frowned. “I’m just a rough man, not like Your Majesty.”
Gu Yuanbai’s brow twitched, “I’m talking about the scar on your waist!”
Xue Yuan’s face turned cold as he silently pulled up his pants and started to follow the guards to gather firewood.
“Come back!” Gu Yuanbai commanded sharply.
Xue Yuan halted, hesitated for a moment, then turned back to face Gu Yuanbai.
His brow furrowed, eyes shadowed, a dark mist veiling the expression within his eyes. But anyone could tell, his mood at the moment was very bad.
He was like a powder keg, keeping his distance to avoid hurting the emperor.
The rebuke that was about to escape Gu Yuanbai’s throat was swallowed back. He snorted coldly, “Weren’t you going to treat my injury?”
Xue Yuan’s expression shifted several times before he finally stepped forward and asked quietly, “Where is Your Majesty injured?”
Just moments ago, he was begging to take a look at Gu Yuanbai. Now, at the mention of his own scar, this mad dog had lost his submissive demeanor.
Gu Yuanbai, displeased, said, “Left calf.”
Xue Yuan knelt down, raising Gu Yuanbai’s left leg. The tight-fitting trousers had to be loosened, and the pant leg rolled up.
Gu Yuanbai was wearing a bright red outfit today. If he had been bleeding, it would have been hard to notice from the outside. He only felt some pain in that area, and when Xue Yuan exposed his left calf, he saw a cut.
It must have been caused by branches or horse accessories. Xue Yuan’s face darkened when he saw the wound, and his hands became gentler. He took out the remaining medicine from last time, cleaned the wound, and applied the ointment.
He was extremely careful, his hands steady. He held Gu Yuanbai’s ankle firmly, fearing he might retract his leg in pain.
His palm felt as hot as fire.
Gu Yuanbai glanced at the wound and said, “Xue Jiuyao, tell me, why did you turn away just now?”
Xue Yuan responded, “Your Majesty, Lord Zhang and the others have returned.”
Gu Yuanbai looked up, and in a blink, Xue Yuan had already moved away to help light the wet wood.
After a while, the Chief Guard approached with a damp cloth, explaining softly, “Your Majesty, Lord Xue said that once these wet woods are ignited, they’ll produce a lot of smoke. To avoid choking, it’s best to cover your mouth and nose with this cloth.”
Gu Yuanbai took the cloth, glanced at Xue Yuan’s back, and the Chief Guard followed his gaze. Though he disliked Xue Yuan, the loyal Chief Guard said, “Lord Xue knows a lot.”
Gu Yuanbai covered his mouth and nose with the cloth and finally said, “You should learn some good things from him.”
Zhang Xu’s face twisted, almost wanting to ask if Xue Yuan had any good qualities. But since it was the emperor who said this, he thought he might have overlooked Xue Yuan’s merits due to his prejudice, so he nodded and said, “I will follow Your Majesty’s instructions.”
Gu Yuanbai nodded lightly.
Once the fire was lit, the smoke gradually dissipated from the cave.
Gu Yuanbai sat by the fire, the light reflecting off his face. Xue Yuan was unusually silent, focused on tending the fire.
“Guard Xue,” Gu Yuanbai said, “I have some questions for you.”
Xue Yuan glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. The warm light flickered on the young emperor, his face slightly flushed from the fire, tender like tofu. His tone unconsciously softened, “What does Your Majesty want to ask?”
Gu Yuanbai said, “I want to ask about the military supplies, the troops, the new and old soldiers, and the injured veterans.”
Although Gu Yuanbai already understood these issues, looking at them from another perspective might yield different insights.
Xue Yuan was very familiar with these topics. He spoke fluently and methodically, detailing what was acceptable and what he despised. Some of his thoughts even coincided with Gu Yuanbai’s.
Raising an eyebrow, Gu Yuanbai smiled and watched him. After Xue Yuan finished discussing the distribution in the army and the friction between new and old soldiers, Gu Yuanbai repeated the question he was most eager to know the answer to, “What about the injured veterans?”
Xue Yuan smirked, “Your Majesty, their situation is dire.”
“Those with minor injuries don’t waste medicine; they endure it. Those with serious injuries don’t waste medicine either; they wait to die. Those with broken legs or lost hands can’t wield weapons, so there’s no need to treat their injuries.”
Xue Yuan’s eyes were cold. He turned to the surrounding guards, revealing a menacing grin, “It’s a great way to save on medicine, isn’t it?”
The guards’ expressions were complex; they could tell Xue Yuan’s words were sarcastic.
Even though hearing about it was impactful, seeing it firsthand would be much more so. Xue Yuan’s battlefield experience lent credibility to his words.
Gu Yuanbai asked again, “How did you get the wound on your waist?”
Xue Yuan slowly looked at him, curling his lips, “Does Your Majesty really want to know?”
His expression was off, like a beast about to strike.
Gu Yuanbai nodded.
Suddenly, Xue Yuan lunged like a wolf, forcefully pushing Gu Yuanbai to the ground. He placed his hands beside Gu Yuanbai’s head, his eyes red, casting a dark shadow over Gu Yuanbai, “Your Majesty, have you heard of ‘two-legged sheep’?”
“Your Majesty!” The guards sprang up, drawing their swords at Xue Yuan, encircling them. “Xue Yuan, let go of His Majesty!”
The mad dog really went mad, looking terrifying, but even though it was such a heavy blow, surprisingly, Gu Yuanbai didn’t feel much pain.
Xue Yuan might not have noticed, but his movements became gentler when he knocked Gu Yuanbai down.
Gu Yuanbai asked, “What are two-legged sheep?”
“In war, the defeated side gets plundered,” Xue Yuan said darkly. “When there’s no food, women are treated like livestock, like food, carried around as army prostitutes and rations. They’re called two-legged sheep. Those nomads classify the women into different ranks, with various cooking methods for the food. The prettiest ones are placed in vats and slowly cooked, which is considered a privilege for beautiful women.”
The veins in Xue Yuan’s neck bulged with anger. “We at the border wanted to kill those nomads. But no matter how many times we asked the court, they refused to let us go to war! How many times can we drive them away? Unless we kill them all, they won’t learn! No pay, no grain from the court, and our weapons are dull! Reinforcements? Where are the reinforcements?!”
Xue Yuan sneered, “That day, I saw the nomads coming and guarded the civilians’ homes in advance. They were scared, thinking we were in league with the nomads because we never fought back. When we appeared at their doors, they thought we were there to steal their women. An old woman with white hair charged at us with a kitchen knife and was cut down by one of our soldiers.”
“This confirmed that we soldiers were cowards,” Xue Yuan said, his hot breath on Gu Yuanbai’s face. “The civilians rioted. It was either them or us. We suppressed the riot without intending to kill, but they fought to the death. This wound came from a kid who stabbed me with a knife.”
The cave fell silent, save for Xue Yuan’s heavy breathing.
“But thanks to their riot,” Xue Yuan suddenly smiled, “we seized their food and survived.”
One of the guards angrily shouted, “How could you—”
Xue Yuan shot him a fierce look, silencing him.
“Your Majesty has asked me many questions. Now, I want to ask you one,” Xue Yuan lowered his head, staring at the tender young emperor. He reached out and lifted Gu Yuanbai’s chin, his hand trembling with controlled force, “Your Majesty, what were you doing at that time?”
Gu Yuanbai frowned slightly, “Xue Yuan, I cannot bear pain.”
Xue Yuan’s hands trembled violently.
He stiffly looked at Gu Yuanbai, as if struck by a great shock, his madness dissipating. He slowly moved off the young emperor, then helped him up, his voice hoarse, “Where does it hurt?”
Insane, Xue Yuan felt insane.
Gu Yuanbai’s simple words, “I cannot bear pain,” instantly dispersed the resentment in Xue Yuan’s heart.
The pain of the memories from the last moment abruptly ceased, and the hatred towards the rulers and the resentment wishing to devour their flesh and blood calmed down again. Because of these things, the new anger and fierceness that arose were also suddenly extinguished as if by cold water.
Gu Yuanbai sat up, his hair tainted with the dust from the ground, the fingerprints on his chin clearly visible. Xue Yuan looked at the fingerprints he had caused, and a sinister look appeared in his eyes, directed towards himself.
Xue Jiuyao, don’t you know he’s frail?
Xue Yuan slapped himself.
Then he realized, Xue Yuan, you’re done for.
The intense hatred and resentment dissipated, and he couldn’t pursue it any further.
Gu Yuanbai paused for a moment. It didn’t actually hurt much—Xue Yuan had unconsciously protected him. He said it to calm Xue Yuan down when he saw him about to lose control.
He didn’t expect those words to be so effective.
So effective… in fact, that it surprised Gu Yuanbai.
Gu Yuanbai exhaled, then turned to face Xue Yuan. Mimicking Xue Yuan’s earlier action, he grabbed Xue Yuan’s chin, turning his face so their eyes met.
The firelight flickered. No one dared to speak, and amid the sound of breathing, the other’s breaths were hotter than his own.
“Since I am here and in power, what you described will never happen again,” Gu Yuanbai said lightly. “Guard Xue, do you trust me?”
Xue Yuan looked up at Gu Yuanbai. Before he could reply, he heard a strange sound.
It was a rapid, pounding noise, seemingly coming from his chest.
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