The generals began to discuss the strategy of attacking Youzhou. After Duan Xu said "cooperate with us fully and say no more", he really shut up and stopped talking. He did not show any impatience, but listened to the generals' words with a smile, as if he was a friendly guest listening to a book.
He Simu thought that this young general must be planning something bad again.
"I heard that there is a strange man in the Tabai Army who can predict the weather with incredible accuracy by observing the celestial phenomena. I am very curious. I wonder if General Duan can introduce him to me?"
I don't know what the discussion was about, but General Yin of Chengjie Army suddenly brought the topic to the Tabai fortune teller "He Xiaoxiao".
He Simu supported his chin and looked at Duan Xu, then said "Oh?" with a faint smile.
Duan Xu looked at her, took a sip of tea, and said calmly, "General Yin, you don't know, this strange girl He is young and weak, and she was already deeply frightened by the massacre in Liangzhou. Some time ago, the battle in Shuozhou was fierce, and she was frightened and sick for a long time. Until now, she has always been bedridden for no reason. The general is majestic and has the aura of a warrior. I am afraid that if I scare her again, it will harm her."
General Yin's attempt to poach someone was thwarted from the beginning. He joked, "With a powerful enemy at hand, shouldn't General Duan keep such a talent to himself? The weather in Youzhou is changeable, and my Chengjie Army is the vanguard, so we need a fortune teller like this. I wonder if General Duan is willing to lend me this expert."
Qin Shuai seemed to want to say something, but Duan Xu spoke before he could, saying openly and firmly, "No."
General Yin had a smile on his face, which he couldn't let go.
Duan Xu put down the teacup, still smiling, and said, "In life, nine out of ten times, what you need will not be realized. For example, when I was trapped in Shuozhou City, I also needed help, but how come there was no one? He Xiaoxiao is my fortune teller, so naturally she will be wherever I am."
His words hinted at something, causing General Qin to narrow his eyes slightly. General Qin asked, "General Duan blames me, doesn't he? Didn't he send troops to rescue us?"
"General Qin is trapped on the battlefield in Yuzhou and is unable to split himself into two places. I understand." Duan Xu was calm and did not show any resentment on his face.
Qin Shuai's eyes fell on Duan Xu for a long time, then he slowly turned back. He did not continue the topic, but changed the topic to another direction in a few words. General Yin's plan to poach people was a hard nail, and there was no further news.
He Simu twirled the Ghost King Lamp Jade Pendant on his waist, glanced at General Yin, then looked at Duan Xu, and said with a smile: "Why, are you afraid that I will eat this General Yin?"
Duan Xu shook his head and said in a barely audible voice, "He's not good-looking. I'm afraid he's polluted your eyes."
He Simu clicked his tongue twice, then smiled without saying anything.
The discussion on strategy ended at noon, and the generals went to have lunch. Duan Xu, who had not made any contribution, waited humbly for the generals to leave the tents first, then he politely saluted General Qin and left the camp with his little brother.
General Qin looked at Duan Xu's leisurely and upright back, his slightly old eyes showing a hint of complicated emotions. His deputy general said, "We were in Yuzhou at the time and couldn't even protect ourselves, but he secretly blamed you. You didn't let go of the past grudges and wrote about his achievements in the battle report. You were too polite to him."
Qin Shuai shook his head and said calmly: "The Duan family has the ability to reach the ears of the gods, and they can't be suppressed."
He placed Duan Xu in Shuozhou to be a bait, but the bait actually ate the fish. This smiling and unpredictable boy might really be a genius.
Although they are geniuses, unfortunately they belong to different camps, and there are many forces and grudges behind them, so they are ultimately useless.
Qin Shuai sighed and stood up from his seat.
Chen Ying was so excited to see the world with Duan Xu for the first time. He ran back and bumped into He Simu who was yawning. Chen Ying looked up and shouted, "Little sister, you just woke up again!"
He Simu rubbed his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I met many other generals and marshals with my brother General today."
"Yes, it's eye-opening."
Chen Ying was a little worried: "They don't like the general brother too much."
"Oh, you've become more observant now."
"Another general wants to take you away, but I won't let you go. I think I like you too, little sister, you two are in love with each other!" Shen Ying said excitedly.
"… "
Now it was He Simu's turn to look at Chen Ying worriedly. She always felt that with this child's hobbies, she might have to become a matchmaker in the future.
She shook her head and said, "What do you mean you think Duan Shunxi is a fake person?"
After a pause, she chuckled again.
But it is also possible that there is no one more genuine than him in this world. He said he was Duan Xu, and his wish was to recover the seventeen states on the north bank.
That's all actually true.
However, he tried his best to survive along the way, escaped back to Daliang, passed the imperial examination, entered the Secretariat, served as a frontier general, defeated the enemy, and up to now, he has only recovered Shuozhou.
There are still sixteen states waiting for him to take back one by one.
— "There's still a long way to go, but I'm already... very? tired."
He Simu remembered that after Fifteen's death, Duan Xu finally stopped his crazy laughter, lowered his head and whispered this sentence.
She always thought that the life of a mortal was just a blink of an eye, but for some reason, she felt that this young man's life was so long and endless.
In the evening, He Simu went to change the dressing for her little curse-maker General to see how his wounds had healed. For a moment, she felt like a butcher who went to see if the pigs were fat every day and calculated when to slaughter them and eat them.
But tonight Piggy said to her with a smile: "I think it's time to kill me."
In fact, what Duan Xu said was: "It hurts too much. Why don't you borrow my touch now? It will make you happy and relieve me."
He sat in armor for the whole morning today. Although the armor was light, the wounds on his body began to bleed again, and his white clothes were covered in blood.
This man was like a feelingless evil ghost when he was killing people in the enemy camp and fighting with Fifteen, but now he is so delicate that he is crying out in pain.
He Simu glanced at him and said calmly, "Pain is a self-protection mechanism for living people. It is doubly dangerous without the feeling of pain."
Duan Xu lay on the bed and let her change the bandage on the wound on his back. Laughter came from under the pillow. He turned his head and said, "Looking at your age, you must have died very young. You are nearly 400 years older than me, so you must have been a ghost for more than 300 years. How come you are so familiar with everything about living people? And your method of applying the medicine is also very skillful - but your hands are too heavy."
He Simu's hand paused, then he suddenly tightened the gauze, and Duan Xu immediately cried out in pain.
"Since you still have the energy to test me, it seems that you have recovered well. Just lend me your touch tonight." He Simu said lightly.
Duan Xu turned his head to look at her, his bright eyes looking deeply into hers, and he smiled: "I'm not testing you."
"oh?"
"Yes, I want to understand He Simu."
learn
Summer insects cannot talk about ice. How can mortals understand her, and why should they understand her
He Simu looked into his clear eyes and said, "Don't think that my promise to let you call me Simu means that we will become close. Little General, you don't need to bother to understand me. Just live well and trade with me."
Duan Xu looked at her for a moment, then smiled with a slightly curved brow, without refuting. His expression was exactly the same as when he said "there is no point in talking more" in the military camp.
Using her own body to test her five senses, He Simu left "He Xiaoxiao's" body in the room and walked into Duan Xu's bedroom again. Duan Xu had already sat cross-legged, waiting for her on the bed in a white dress.
There were a few pieces of letter paper on his lap. When he saw He Simu coming, he put the pieces of letter paper on the fire and burned them. Only the words "successful" could be vaguely seen.
He Simu glanced at the letter and then moved his gaze to Duan Xu. Duan Xu's dark eyes reflected the candlelight. He smiled and stretched out his hand to her. His five slender fingers looked like the hands of a scholar.
"Come on," he said.
He seemed even more impatient than she was.
He Simu looked at him, and the pearl floated out of her arms and slowly fell into Duan Xu's palm.
The pearl was cold, carrying with her the aura of death.
Duan Xu tightened her five fingers to hold the pearl, and He Simu's cold hand covered the pearl. She closed her eyes, and the Ghost King Lamp on her waist emitted a bright blue light.
Suddenly, a strong wind came from nowhere and enveloped the two of them. He Simu's long hair and silver hairpin danced in the wind. The pearl began to shine, revealing layers of red runes inside. Those runes rotated rapidly like gears until one rune rose to the air, split into two and merged into the eyebrows of Duan Xu and He Simu.
There was a tiny red mole between He Simu's eyebrows, like a drop of blood on the pale snow, and the same was true for Duan Xu.
The light of the pearl dimmed, the wind disappeared, and the world was as silent as usual. He Simu slowly opened her eyes and met Duan Xu's gaze, his eyes as deep as the starry sky.
There was a moment of silence between the two of them. He Simu suddenly stretched out his hand and pushed Duan Xu down on the bed. Mingzhu rolled onto the mattress, half-covered.
Duan Xu looked at her with his eyes open. Before he could say anything, he saw her hand touching his face, caressing his delicate skin. Her pale fingers seemed to be tinged with a warm color.
Her long hair fell on him, and her gaze was so hot that it burned into his eyes, making him forget the jokes he was about to make.
"Skin." He Simu opened his lips slightly and murmured.
Her hand stroked along his face and then moved to his lips. Duan Xu's lips were thin and light in color, with the corners of his lips naturally slightly upturned, containing a hint of smile, soft and warm.
"Lips."
The fingertips stayed on the lips for a moment, then moved lightly to the side of the nose.
Her eyes sparkled as she said, "Breathe."
Then, her fingers slowly moved down, along the side of his face, and strangled his thin neck. Duan Xu stared at He Simu intently, her whole body relaxed and not resisting, and her hands did not mean to tighten.
"pulse."
She was like a child who was getting to know the world for the first time, expressing everything she felt one by one.
As soon as she finished speaking, He Simu suddenly leaned over and lay on Duan Xu's chest. Her face was pressed against Duan Xu's thin clothes, and Duan Xu tensed up in an instant.
She lay on his chest silently, as if time had stopped. After a moment, she smiled softly and looked up at him, her breathtakingly beautiful face full of joy.
"Heartbeat."
Duan Xu's eyes moved slightly, and at this moment He Simu came close to him and said something earth-shattering word by word.
"Bite me."
Duan Xu was stunned for a moment. He stared at He Simu's expression and repeated in a low voice: "Bite you?"
"Well, bite my neck." He Simu turned her face to the side, revealing her pale and slender neck, and gave orders nonchalantly.
The wind came into the room through the gaps in the window, causing the candle flame to flicker, and the dim light fell on her neck.
Duan Xu was silent for a moment, then raised his head, with his upper body suspended in the air. He stroked her long hair with one hand, held her cheek with the other, opened his mouth and bit her neck slowly and unceremoniously.
There was no blood, but there was a red mark.
He Simu did not dodge, but just said quietly: "It hurts."
The word "hurt" was not in a gentle tone, and was much less pitiful than when she pretended to be He Xiaoshi, but it was like a tiny piece of ice that lightly pricked Duan Xu's ear.
and heart.
Duan Xu's eyelashes trembled.
She turned her head unconsciously and looked at him. Within earshot, she chuckled and said with some curiosity, "So this is how those people I ate felt before they died."
The world actually has such a magical face.
Skin, lips, breath.
Smooth, soft and warm.
The pulse is like a small bell, and the heartbeat is like a small drum. It is trembling and warm, delicate and alive, and hot like boiling blood.
The pain is very subtle, a mixture of discomfort and uneasiness, and a sharp edge.
And when he held her hair and rubbed his cheek against her neck, what was that subtle unbearable feeling that was completely different from pain
All of this, is it alive
Duan Xu looked at her deeply, smiled brightly, and said with curved eyebrows: "Your Highness the Ghost King, Si Mu, welcome to the world of the living."