unedited

His heart was beating wildly in his chest, like being hit by something, stunned. As his heart pounded, even the breath he exhaled was piping hot.

Meng Huan’s face was pale from fright, and his eyes turned sluggishly. He was covered in water droplets, his skin glistening with shimmering light under the moonlight, his eyelids moist, his eyelashes wet, and his gaze falling wretchedly on Lin Bozhou.

He finally recovered from being shocked.

Meng Huan briefly wrapped his hand around his neck, biting him on the shoulder.

“You scared me……”

Aggrieved, angry, biting.

Lin Bozhou didn’t mind letting him bite, one hand holding him steady. The young man’s figure was slimmer, his fair skin soaked in the cold water, and the temperature was low. It was even colder when he was pulled out, and his back tensed up when the wind blew.

Lin Bozhou’s hands crossed his armpits and pressed him into his arms, turning his back to block the wind for him. “How was your day?”

Meng Huan said softly, “All is well.”

Thinking of something, Meng Huan added, “I saw you on the way.”

Lin Bozhou smiled. “This husband also saw Huan Huan.”

“……” Meng Huan was oddly embarrassed, his face blushing and heart pounding. “You are……” He held his breath before saying, “Dazzling.”

He also wanted to ride a horse and gallop through the sands like that. How cool!

Meng Huan was excited at the thought, flapping in his arms. Lin Bozhou’s gaze was stunned, lingering on his dangling white feet. With the sound of running water, Lin Bozhou carried him to the dry stone shore, sat down, and gently clutched his white feet with one hand.

After one day of walking, the young man’s little toe was red and swollen, and his heel was blistered. When his fingers squeezed up, Meng Huan was in pain, let out an “ouch,” and shrank into his arms.

The young man’s fair nape was buried in the crook of his neck, rubbing into his embrace. “What for?”

“After walking all day, do your feet hurt?” Lin Bozhou held his feet tightly.

Meng Huan nodded. “Yes.”

Thinking of the next ten days and a half months of walking, Meng Huan did not hold back a sigh, wanting to stop striving.

It was even more challenging than the military training in college.

While thinking, Meng Huan shrunk in his arms, aggravated.

He also complained, very dissatisfied.

Lin Bozhou chuckled as he pulled out a medicine bottle and poured the medicine wine into his palm. “Didn’t Chen An say that Huan Huan is tough?”

His hand grasped Meng Huan’s sole, smearing it with medicinal wine, and his finger bones gently rubbed against the acupuncture points. The taut tingling sensation and the hard finger bones created bursts of soreness and itchiness that drilled into his heart when pressing and rubbing against the sore parts.

Lin Bozhou rubbed with great care, his eyes dropping while deliberately looking for something to say.

When the arch of his foot was kneaded again, Meng Huan retracted his foot, and his face was red. “I am certainly tough in front of them, but there is no need to be tough in front of you…..”

He was incredibly embarrassed by his grip on his feet, silently pursing his lips, and his white toes clenched tightly with shame.

The tips of his pink toes curled into a ball, which was immediately pinched and rubbed by Lin Bozhou. “Mm, Huan Huan is right.”

Lin Bozhou was good at being indulgent in Meng Huan’s temper. Even if Meng Huan occasionally said some childish things, he never used his own standards to reprimand but went along with Meng Huan’s words.

Lin Bozhou rubbed Meng Huan’s feet and asked, “Will you still walk by yourself tomorrow?”

Meng Huan nodded. “Yes. When I can’t walk anymore, I’ll ride a horse.”

Lin Bozhou let out an “mm” and washed his hands. “Don’t force yourself.”

The wind by the river bank was chilly, the night was deep, and the moonlight reflected the chaotic shadows of tree branches.

The night was slightly cold, and they could not help but want to touch each other, but after touching each other, their bodies became hot.

Lin Bozhou suppressed something in his eyes, but he restrained himself. “This husband will not touch you. We must hurry on with the journey tomorrow.  We won’t be able to get up tomorrow if we screw up tonight.”

Meng Huan thought he was really going to do something with Lin Bozhou and was thinking about persuading him to abstain from sex. After hearing these words, he was relieved.

The two bathed, appropriately dressed, and stood on a rock, looking across the river at the brightly lit camp. Under the dark sky, the camp was lit with torches on the high ground, and the flames flickered and reflected the blurred shadows of the camp tents.

Meng Huan was curious. “Won’t the enemy attack us if we are stationed here?”

Lin Bozhou couldn’t help but laugh. “This is within the Pass. Unless the Shanhai Pass is defeated and there is chaos within the Great Zong, no one will come over in the middle of the night.”

Meng Huan had a series of thoughts in his head. “Then what did you eat tonight?”

“We’re near the river tonight, so I ate steamed fish and bacon and drank wine.”

Meng Huan nodded. “I had dinner too.”

He asked again, “How long until we reach the pass?”

“Walking sixty li a day, about ten days to go.”

Meng Huan tilted his head and looked at him miserably. “I can’t walk anymore.”

Lin Bozhou stroked his hair. “Huan Huan, be good.”

If Meng Huan wasn’t worried about him going to war outside, why would he come with him to suffer this kind of hardship? He knew it in his heart, so he felt soft and heartbroken when he heard such words.

Meng Huan turned around and looked at the other side of the river. After being with Lin Bozhou, he was prone to being petulant and whiny. He couldn’t help it, but he didn’t have to be embarrassed since there was no third person to see it.