—It was not until the second half of the night that Alan Yue fell into a short, drowsy sleep.
A strong wind blew outside the dilapidated temple, making the branches and leaves of the trees rustle.
Alan Yue woke up hazily, but suddenly saw several dark shadows appear in front of him. He was so scared that he screamed and got up and hid behind the
Zhao Litang stood by his side, clutching his clothes tightly and shivering.
"General... there is a ghost..."
The ghosts quickly lit a candlestick, illuminating the surroundings.
A Lanyue looked over with trembling eyes, and saw a few beggars with ragged clothes and disheveled hair standing in front of her. They were looking at her in confusion, and then at Zhao Litang lying on the ground.
"Don't be afraid, kid. We are not ghosts, we are human beings."
—A kind-looking old lady said.
A Lanyue was relieved at this point. After some explanation, it turned out that he and the general had occupied the beggars' territory and slept on their straw beds.
"Sorry, grandma, we didn't know this was your place. We'll give it to you right now."
A Lanyue called Zhao Litang in a low voice, but after calling him several times, he seemed not to hear her. He was immersed in his sleep, with his handsome brows furrowed.
The old lady noticed something and said, "I'm afraid he's sick. His face is a little red. Feel it and see if he has a fever."
A Lanyue stretched out her hand and wanted to touch Zhao Litang's forehead, but before she touched him, she was suddenly grabbed by a hand.
Zhao Litang tightly grasped his wrist, his fingertips were burning hot, and he seemed to be mumbling something incomprehensible.
Alan Yue lowered her head and moved closer.
"Long... memory..."
At that moment, his body froze in place, and then his shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably. The more he tried to suppress it and not care about it, the more
—The whispers become clearer and clearer in my ears.
The person in the general's heart has never changed, so what about me
It was just one-sided following him, pestering him, and being shameless and unwilling to let him go.
But in fact, he was ready to let go...
The old lady asked, "Child, is he calling you?"
Alan Yue straightened up, twitched the corners of her mouth, took a deep breath and said, "No..."
At this time, Zhao Litang let go of his hand and stopped whispering.
Alan Yue gently touched his forehead, which was indeed very hot. After thinking about it, it might be because he had been busy running around for the past two days, plus the medicine he took.
The effect was too strong and the weak body could not bear it for a while, so the fever occurred.
We can't just let Zhao Litang's body continue to burn like this, we have to find a way to cool him down.
Those beggars were also kind-hearted. Seeing that Zhao Litang was seriously ill, they offered to give up their place for them to sleep, and then they lay down on the other side.
A Lanyue found a handkerchief and asked where to find cold water. The old lady said there was a river not far from the dilapidated temple.
A Lan Yue thanked him and went out to fetch some water.
When he came back, the old lady kindly said, "Son, this guy was talking in his sleep again when you were out. I leaned over to listen, but I couldn't hear it clearly, I just heard him mumbling..."
"Grandma," Alanyue interrupted and smiled bitterly, "Forget it... No need to tell me..."
He knew very well what the general was talking about. It was just the person he was worried about.
Seeing that Alan Yue seemed very sad, the old lady shut up, just leaned out and looked at the bright moon hanging in the night sky from afar.
A Lanyue wet a handkerchief with cold water and carefully wiped Zhao Litang's arms and face. Zhao Litang stopped talking in his sleep and the heat in his body began to slowly dissipate.
After wiping it for the last time, Alan Yue looked outside and saw that it was already dawn.
When Zhao Litang woke up, he squinted his eyes again because of the bright white light. He put his hands to cover his eyes, then sat up. Only then did he realize that there were other people in the dilapidated temple besides the two of them.
He immediately clenched his fists secretly and carefully looked at the beggars around him. After a quick glance, he saw Alan Yue lying on the side and sleeping soundly.
He seemed extremely insecure. He curled up tightly, hugged his knees, and slept in a fetal position, like a poor little animal abandoned by his owner.
Zhao Litang was frightened when the word "pitiful" popped up in his mind. How could Alan Yue be pitiful? He was the prince of the barbarians, and his brother was the leader of the barbarians. If anyone should feel pity, he should feel pity for himself. He was the defeated soldier who was in danger and his life was hanging by a thread.
Zhao Litang stood up and felt that he had slept very well last night and his energy and spirit had been restored a lot. He walked to A Lanyue and kicked him, being careful not to use much force this time.
A Lanyue opened her eyes dazedly, but before she could fully wake up, she was grabbed by the collar and dragged up, walking out of the dilapidated temple.
"Are you leaving now?"
The old lady among the beggars woke up and asked with concern.
Zhao Litang didn't stop and seemed not to intend to pay any attention.
A Lanyue wanted to turn around and say goodbye to her, but Zhao Litang pinched the back of her neck and turned her back.
"That child didn't sleep all night, why not let him sleep a little longer..."
The two had already walked out of the ruined temple, and the voices behind them were blown away by the wind.
A Lanyue lowered her head, not daring to look at Zhao Litang. She didn't know whether Zhao Litang heard what the old lady said just now.
The horse was led over, and Zhao Litang was the first to climb onto the horse. Then he leaned over and grabbed A Lanyue by the waist and pulled him up. Then the horse galloped away.
Instead of heading straight to the next city, the two men rode their horses in a detour and avoided the city from a small path outside the city.
—On the way, Zhao Litang pursed his lips and frowned, wondering what he was thinking about.
A Lanyue tried hard to cheer himself up, but his eyelids became heavier and heavier, and his head kept nodding off. He almost slipped sideways when he wasn't paying attention.
Fortunately, Zhao Litang was quick to hold his waist, and his powerful palm reached out to his abdomen and held it tightly.
"Take a nap. I'll hold you."
A Lanyue took a deep breath, and the drowsiness disappeared immediately. He stammered, "General... General... I'm not sleepy..."
Zhao Litang directly ordered, "Shut up and close your eyes."
A Lanyue stopped talking and closed his mouth and eyes obediently. However, after a while, he became too sleepy to be conscious again and leaned back limply.
Zhao Litang supported his body steadily with one hand and steered the horse with the other.
If she lowered her eyes slightly, she could see the fair and clean face of the person in her arms. The red crescent at the corner of the eye was even more eye-catching.
If it weren't for this mark, how could he be recognized by Amul...
Zhao Litang calmed his mind and concentrated on his journey.
It was almost afternoon when we finally saw a restaurant on the side of the road.
Zhao Litang reined in his horse and Alan Yue just woke up.
After the two of them had eaten and drunk their fill, Alan Yue had quite a bit of silver on him, so he paid some to the boss, and then the two of them continued on their journey.
At midnight, they arrived at a city.
The two found an inn to stay in, two rooms for two people, and spent the night peacefully.
Early the next morning, Zhao Litang somehow convinced the innkeeper and was able to bring A Lanyue into the innkeeper's caravan.
This caravan was escorting a load of goods to the barbarian capital. The leader was the innkeeper's son, Liu Zhiyuan. He had a handsome appearance and a gentle personality. He looked like a scholar and could not control the burly followers in the caravan.
—Alanyue kept staring at Liu Zhiyuan on the way. Even Zhao Litang noticed that something was wrong with Alanyue. When no one was paying attention, he approached him and whispered, "What are you looking at?"
"
Alan Yue's ears were burned, and she lowered her head in panic, mumbling, "General, he keeps looking at you..."
Zhao Litang was startled when he heard this, and then his eyes turned to Liu Zhiyuan not far away. He saw that he was sitting behind a cargo cart with a book in his hand, as if he had just retracted his gaze.
Zhao Litang looked at him a few more times, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over directly.
A Lanyue wanted to follow, but Zhao Litang said, "Wait here."
A Lanyue obediently did not follow.
He watched Zhao Litang walk over and follow behind the cart. He didn't know what he said to Liu Zhiyuan, and then they both laughed.
He tugged at his sleeves. The general had never smiled at him like that before.
He deliberately turned his eyes away, not wanting to see the annoying scholar again.
"What are you looking at again?"
A voice rang in her ears, Alan Yue turned around and saw that Zhao Litang had returned without her knowing.
"No... I didn't see anything..."
Zhao Litang looked in the direction he was looking in disbelief. It was just some flowers and plants on the roadside, nothing much, so he looked away without saying anything.
After dark, the caravan set up camp directly in the wild, built a campfire and started cooking.
Everyone around started to get busy. A Lanyue whispered to Zhao Litang secretly, "General, it's time to apply medicine to you."
Zhao Litang nodded, pushed himself off the cart with his backhand, and walked into the bushes on the side.
A Lanyue covered the medicine boxes on her chest, pretended to look around unintentionally, and then followed.
The wind rustles the grass, and the moonlight is bright.
From time to time, gentle inquiries came from the grass.
"Does it still hurt..."
"So..."
"I, I'll be gentler..."
"And here, too..."
This was accompanied by two suppressed gasps from time to time.
Perhaps they were both too engrossed in the action and did not notice someone approaching quietly until they heard a "pop" sound of something falling behind them.
Zhao Litang reacted quickly and grabbed the small hand on his chest, pushed the person in front of him onto his legs, then turned around and looked over vigilantly.
Liu Zhiyuan had already stayed where he was, staring fixedly at the two people in the moonlight not far away.
The front of his shirt was wide open, covered with all kinds of marks. It was hard to see clearly in the dim light, but his handsome brows were filled with impatience and annoyance at being disturbed.
The other one was petite, and her face couldn't be seen because she was blocked by someone, but her waist that was across the man's legs looked slender and soft, and even in that twisted posture she seemed extremely resilient.
Liu Zhiyuan's face flushed red, and he said awkwardly, "Sorry... You... continue..."