Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 11

Huo Fenghua woke up from the pain in his shoulder.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that dawn was just starting to break. They were on a rocky shore overgrown with weeds. Farther off he could faintly hear the sound of water, maybe from behind the low ridge ahead.

He also realized he was leaning in Su Zeyang’s arms. Part of his clothes had been torn open, exposing the arrow wound in his shoulder.

“You’re awake?” Su Zeyang asked.

Huo Fenghua nodded, braced himself, and sat up facing him.

Su Zeyang was sitting on the ground too, sword in hand. “I’m going to pull the arrow out for you. Bear with it.”

Huo Fenghua went pale. “Pull it out? How am I supposed to bear that?”

Su Zeyang grabbed his sleeve, cut off a strip with his sword, folded it a few times, and motioned to him. “Come here.”

Huo Fenghua understood what he meant. Thinking about the pain of having the arrow yanked out of his body, he couldn’t help trembling. Cold sweat poured down his face. He’d lost a lot of blood too, and he was already weak to the point of collapse. With a pale face he took a few deep breaths. After making up his mind, he copied the position from before, leaning back and half reclining into Su Zeyang’s arms, then said, “Do it.”

Su Zeyang stuffed the cloth into his mouth for him to bite down on, then lifted a hand and gripped the fletched shaft at his shoulder.

Huo Fenghua clenched the cloth between his teeth and shut his eyes tight.

Su Zeyang suddenly exerted force. With one swift motion he yanked the arrow out. Blood surged from the wound at once. Su Zeyang poured on the hemostatic powder he carried and tightly wrapped the wound with strips torn from a clean undershirt.

Huo Fenghua’s face was white as snow, drenched in sweat. It felt like he’d died once already. Slumped in Su Zeyang’s arms, he didn’t move except to gasp for air. Even the cloth in his mouth was taken out by Su Zeyang reaching over to remove it.

Across two lifetimes, he’d never felt pain like that. It hurt so badly he nearly blacked out.

At this moment, Su Zeyang said, “Go.”

Huo Fenghua froze. He didn’t even have the strength to lift his head to look at him. After panting for a long while, he finally asked, “Go where?”

“Anywhere,” Su Zeyang said. “If you don’t want to go back to the capital, find someplace to hide.”

Something felt off. Huo Fenghua struggled upright, forcing himself to endure the stabbing pain in his shoulder. He turned to look at Su Zeyang and saw that Su Zeyang’s face was also an unnatural pale, yet he calmly wiped down his sword with a soft cloth. Huo Fenghua couldn’t help asking, “You’re not coming with me?”

Su Zeyang lifted his eyes to him. “When I fell, my left leg slammed into a piece of broken stone. It’s fractured.”

Huo Fenghua looked down in surprise. Su Zeyang’s left leg was indeed lying limp on the rocky shore. No wonder he’d stayed seated while pulling out the arrow instead of standing.

“What do we do?” Huo Fenghua asked.

Su Zeyang looked up at the cliff they’d fallen from. “The Xichou soldiers will come looking for you. You go first.”

Huo Fenghua said, “And you? If I run, do you think they’ll let you off?”

Su Zeyang’s expression stayed flat. “Life and death are fate.”

“Cut it out. Your General Feng is still waiting for you to get back so you can be together again,” Huo Fenghua said, and even he thought the words sounded sour coming from his mouth.

Su Zeyang didn’t respond. He only lowered his head to look at his sword, as if he truly didn’t care about his own life.

Huo Fenghua sighed. Using his uninjured right hand, he pushed himself up. Darkness swam in front of his eyes. He steadied himself through the dizziness, squatted down in front of Su Zeyang, and said, “Come on, Senior Brother. We’ll go together.”

Su Zeyang stared at his back as if dazed. “If you carry me, we’ll just die together.”

“When we fell from up there, I thought we were going to die together anyway,” Huo Fenghua said.

Su Zeyang didn’t respond.

Huo Fenghua urged him, “Hurry. I’m riding on one burst of momentum right now. If I wait, I won’t even have the strength to stand up.”

Only then did Su Zeyang brace himself with his hands, rise with support from his right leg, and climb onto Huo Fenghua’s back. The instant Su Zeyang’s weight settled, Huo Fenghua’s whole body shook. Su Zeyang almost thought he would collapse, but Huo Fenghua gritted his teeth and forced himself to hold.

Huo Fenghua breathed hard and used his right hand to hook under Su Zeyang’s leg. “Which way?”

Su Zeyang raised a hand and pointed toward the direction of the water. “Find the river and follow it downstream. There should be people living there.”

Huo Fenghua nodded, clenched his teeth, and carried Su Zeyang around the back of the low ridge.

Daylight had fully arrived. The mountain air in the morning was fresh, and the temperature was low.

Huo Fenghua stumbled over the rocks, one foot deep and one foot shallow. His breathing was harsh and heavy, and as he walked he kept talking. “I know you don’t actually want to die with me. There’s only Feng Tianzong in your heart. If I really die, you’ll just toss me farther away. Out of sight, out of mind.”

Su Zeyang said, “Earlier you said you wanted me to bury you.”

Huo Fenghua gasped for breath. He felt the person on his back slide down a bit. He hauled him up with effort, paused to rest in place for a moment, then continued forward. “Your leg’s broken. What burying? Just throw me to the side.”

Su Zeyang didn’t answer.

Huo Fenghua kept going anyway. “Such a pretty pair of legs. Too bad you won’t be able to hook them over Feng Tianzong’s shoulders anymore.”

“That’s enough,” Su Zeyang said coldly. “If you’ve got strength to talk nonsense, save it for walking.”

“I can’t,” Huo Fenghua said. “If I don’t talk, I’ll feel like I can’t hold on. Even nonsense is fine. I’ll just talk. If you don’t like listening, then don’t.”

Hearing that, Su Zeyang reached out and touched Huo Fenghua’s forehead. It was slick with cold sweat. When he pulled his hand back, it was drenched.

Huo Fenghua kept muttering as he walked. After nearly half an hour, they rounded the ridge and saw a small mountain river. The water rushed happily, crashing into the rocks along the bank and splashing up countless white sprays.

Huo Fenghua reached the river, set Su Zeyang down, and they drank some river water. After resting for a while, he hoisted Su Zeyang onto his back again and kept going.

This time they followed the river downstream. Huo Fenghua was still talking, but Su Zeyang could barely make out what he was saying. Later he heard a steady humming and realized Huo Fenghua was humming a tune.

The melody was strange. Su Zeyang couldn’t help asking, “What song is that?”

“‘Love For Sale’,” Huo Fenghua said.

Su Zeyang murmured, “Weird.”

Huo Fenghua’s enunciation cleared a little and he sang one line: “Selling my love, forcing me to leave, when I finally learn the truth, my tears fall…”

Su Zeyang gave a cold snort. The lyrics were too vulgar to be elegant, but tiredness washed over him and he leaned his head onto Huo Fenghua’s shoulder.

Huo Fenghua continued singing for a while, then stopped. He had no strength left. Carrying Su Zeyang, he’d already walked more than twenty li, and still they hadn’t seen any sign of civilization.

He didn’t dare stop. He was afraid that if he stopped, he’d never stand back up.

In the forested mountains there was only his heavy breathing and his unsteady footsteps.

Now and then, Su Zeyang would wipe the sweat from Huo Fenghua’s forehead so it wouldn’t run into his eyes, but he also didn’t dare tell him to stop. A nameless panic kept pressing down on him, terrified that Huo Fenghua would suddenly collapse and never wake again.

But Huo Fenghua made it through. After another li or so, he suddenly saw terraced fields and wooden houses. He tried to speak, only to realize his throat was hoarse and he could barely get a sound out.

Su Zeyang said by his ear, “It’s a small mountain village. I see people. You can stop and rest for a while.”

Huo Fenghua stopped. His chest heaved violently. He first tried to crouch and set Su Zeyang down at the roadside, but his legs couldn’t support him. He dropped to his knees, then pitched forward and lost consciousness.

Su Zeyang immediately slid off his back, gathered Huo Fenghua’s head into his arms, and called, “Huo Fenghua?” As he called, he rubbed at his chest, wiped away the cold sweat from his neck and chest, and listened. Only when he confirmed the heartbeat was steady and the breathing even did he relax slightly. He held Huo Fenghua close, lifted his head, and shouted to someone approaching, “Brother!”

Huo Fenghua and Su Zeyang were brought back by a village household. Su Zeyang gave them a few taels of silver and asked them to fetch a doctor and buy two sets of clean clothes for them to change into.

This place sat on the border between Xichou and Donglin. The villagers were all Xichou people. Because the mountains hemmed them in and the place was remote, the war hadn’t reached them, but outside the village toward the towns, the situation seemed much more severe.

Huo Fenghua had lost blood and overexerted himself until he was drained. He lay in bed for two or three days before he had the strength to get up. Su Zeyang’s spirits were better, but his leg bone was broken. Although the doctor had set it, it was healing slowly so he didn’t dare to move much.

Mountain folks were poor. The family barely managed to clear out a bed for them. For these days, the two of them could only sleep in the same bed.

When Huo Fenghua woke up, he rested his head on Su Zeyang’s shoulder and rubbed against him for a while. “Senior Brother, why did you change into clothes from outside and you still smell good?”

Su Zeyang ignored him, leaning against the bed and staring at his sword as if lost in thought.

Someone knocked at the door. It was the host’s daughter bringing food. Huo Fenghua rolled off the bed. When his feet hit the floor, his legs still felt weak and he nearly collapsed to his knees.

He steadied himself, went to open the door and took the basket, thanked the girl, then shut the door and returned to the bed. He said to Su Zeyang, “Senior Brother, I’ll feed you.”

Su Zeyang straightened. “My hands aren’t broken.”

Huo Fenghua immediately covered his left shoulder with his right hand. “Then you should be feeding me.”

Su Zeyang didn’t bother with him.

After they finished eating, Huo Fenghua took the basket out himself. Outside was a small courtyard. The household had five people: a husband and wife, a son and daughter, and an elderly father.

Huo Fenghua chatted with the old man, who was squatting on the ground smoking a water pipe. He asked where this was, which direction Donglin lay in, and how long it would take to return to Donglin.

The old man rambled on and told him a lot.

When Huo Fenghua returned to the room, Su Zeyang asked, “What, thinking of running?”

Huo Fenghua sat by the bed. “How could I? I’m waiting for your leg to heal so I can take you with me.”

Su Zeyang glanced at him and said nothing.

Huo Fenghua took Su Zeyang’s hand. Seeing that Su Zeyang didn’t struggle, he pressed that hand against his own chest. “I know too. If we go back, you’ll never be close to me again. It’s rare to get the chance to share a bed like this. I’m counting each day I get. How could I bear to leave?”

Su Zeyang’s beautiful eyes blinked lightly. The look he gave Huo Fenghua was no longer his usual cold indifference but rather complicated.

Huo Fenghua held Su Zeyang’s hand tight against his chest, but what he was really thinking was that once Su Zeyang’s leg healed, he truly wouldn’t be able to run anymore. He had to seize the chance while Su Zeyang wasn’t mobile and slip away first.

But where would he slip to? This was the border between Donglin and Xichou. He didn’t plan to become a wild man forever. He had to find a bigger town to live in. Xichou had just gone through war, and its territory had been seized by Donglin. Donglin would definitely send more troops and officials to fully take over. When that happened, every household might have to re-register. For him, that might be a chance to change his identity and stay.

So should he go back to Donglin again?

Both countries had people who wanted to capture him. Which side would be safer, comparatively?

That night, Huo Fenghua lay in bed thinking. In the end he made up his mind. No matter where he went, he had to shake off Su Zeyang first.

After settling on that, he suddenly felt he’d wronged Su Zeyang. Su Zeyang had come all the way out of Yujing to find him. To save him, he’d fallen off a cliff and broken his leg. Yet Huo Fenghua still wanted to sneak away.

Guilt gnawed at him. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He flipped over onto his stomach, propped his head with his right hand, and stared at Su Zeyang in a daze.

Su Zeyang’s brows, eyes, nose, and lips were all beautiful. Heaven knew how the gods had crafted such a beauty. Even just looking at him made a person itch with longing. It was a pity, though, that his heart already belonged to someone else.

Huo Fenghua thought, even if he didn’t care that Su Zeyang was a man, Su Zeyang would never like him. There was only Feng Tianzong in his heart. This time, Su Zeyang had chased after him across great distances. Even if he didn’t say it, Huo Fenghua understood. If his hostage identity, married into the General’s household, got dragged back by Xichou remnants to take the throne and restore the kingdom, the entire General’s residence would be implicated. Su Zeyang chasing him back was, in the end, still for Feng Tianzong.

Thinking that, Huo Fenghua let out a heavy sigh.

In the darkness, Su Zeyang opened his eyes. “Why aren’t you sleeping? What are you staring at me for?”

“You’re handsome,” Huo Fenghua said.

Su Zeyang looked back at him without a sound.

They stared at each other in silence for a long time, and neither seemed uncomfortable. Then Huo Fenghua said, “Senior Brother, we went through life and death together. You jumped off a cliff for me, and I nearly worked myself to death for you. Let me kiss you once as a keepsake, okay?”

Su Zeyang didn’t speak.

Huo Fenghua didn’t wait for an answer. He leaned in and kissed Su Zeyang on the lips.

At first, Huo Fenghua thought he’d be pushed away immediately, but he wasn’t. Su Zeyang didn’t close his eyes and didn’t open his mouth. Huo Fenghua could only press against his soft lips, use his tongue to push between his lips, lightly lick along his teeth, then, after playing enough, take Su Zeyang’s lower lip into his mouth and suck at it. He kept kissing until Su Zeyang’s lips were smeared with his saliva. Only then did Huo Fenghua lift his head, wipe Su Zeyang’s mouth with his hand, and smile. “Let’s sleep.”

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