by Spring Trees
“Hm?” Mo Shu raised his brows—he knew that the scholar would never report if it wasn’t something important.
“The king of Bei Jun hung himself in Prince Li’s manor.
A hint of astonishment flashed on Mo Shu’s face.
Prince Li was obviously the former identity of the fellow in his arms. Of course, Prince Li’s manor was the place he lived in previously.
A few years ago, the king of Bei Jun claimed that Prince Li was harboring ill motives and had plans of rebelling, so he removed Prince Li’s title, imprisoned him, and in the end, executed him.
However, Prince Li’s manor remained behind, and was no longer used.
Although the meaning behind that wasn’t quite clear, Mo Shu instinctively tilted his head down as he gazed at Nan Ge Er, who was silently burrowed in his arms.
“Xian sheng?” The scholar called out to him in whispers.
Mo Shu lifted his head, looking at him without any expression.
Though his expression had no dissimilarity from the look he usually displayed, the scholar reacted to it immediately, “Understood. I will not mention this to Nan Ge Er.”
Only then did Mo Shu curl his lips up slightly, “Being able to die with the title of a king is really too light of a sentence for him.”
“Perhaps, Bei Jun’s king thought so as well, which might be why he hung himself in Prince Li’s manor before anyone could get him.” The scholar lowered his head a little while talking.
Mo Shu drooped his eyes down, looking at Nan Ge Er’s pale white face and water-colored lips. He whispered, “Forget it. Since I promised him not to waste any more time, naturally, I won’t do anything more.” He lifted one of his fingers, poking at Nan Ge Er’s soft cheek, “Continue the journey.”
“Yes.” The scholar chuckled, before glancing at the ball of snow white fur wrapping Nan Ge Er—of course, he couldn’t see the person in Mo Shu’s tight embrace from his line of sight. “Everyone will definitely be joyous when they see Xian sheng and Nan Ge Er returning together.”
Mo Shu didn’t seem to understand what the scholar meant. He shot a slightly baffled glance at the scholar, before continuing to play around by poking gently on Nan Ge Er’s face, “Mn, he wants to get back as soon as possible too.”
After a light chuckle, the scholar bowed slightly towards Mo Shu and left deftly.
During noon, the group stopped once again—it was Nan Ge Er’s daily lunchtime.
If nothing went wrong, Mo Shu would vehemently insist on letting Nan Ge Er have his meals every day on time—even if Nan Ge Er was sleeping, he would still be woken up to have his meals before continuing his sleep.
At the moment, Nan Ge Er had already ended his sleeping ‘date’ and was gazing at the slightly sparse winter scenery while leaning against Mo Shu.
Neither did the area have any villages around, nor was it near any major streets. Judging from the jumble of vegetation all over the place, along with the small pathways that could barely withstand the weight of wheels, it was merely an exceedingly regular valley trail.
In the near distance, a few people were clearing out to make a large patch of grassland. Following next, they gathered some dry branches before placing a wok, basin, and whatnots above the fire they raised.
A few others asked Mo Shu over and went pathfinding.
On the other hand, Nan Ge Er could only daze around since he was unable to help due to his weak condition.
However, Mo Shu-xian sheng, an all-purpose housework expert with a robust body and a limit-breaking strength, was grinning foolishly while hugging his tiny tsundere pumpkin at the moment. He sat there, zoning out without a single guilt.
Ugh, alright. Mo Shu wasn’t actually zoning out. That fellow was constantly gazing at Nan Ge Er with tenderly soft, starry eyes.
Nan Ge Er ignored the fellow’s passionate and lingering gaze. After all, he was trained from the continual exposure. He busied himself by daydreaming; diverging train of thoughts filled his entire brain.
His thoughts swiftly changed from commenting on the fine weather to worrying if the piglets at home were taken good care of.
Once he glanced at the people heating water in the wok, he was instantly reminded of the scene in Guang Tian where everyone crowded around and barbequed. Then, he recalled what exactly that white fur was.
Why are sacred beasts treated like common wild animals by Guang Tian’s citizens?
In any case, such random and aimless thoughts casually ran in his mind.
Lunch was ready.
It wasn’t known who caught some skinny rabbits during the pathfinding, but the rabbits were skewered and roasted too.
When Nan Ge Er looked at the scrawny, nearly meatless rabbits, his eyes finally glowed brightly.
Winter was almost over; all animals only had a thin layer of fat underneath their skin and were mostly skin and bones without much meat. Nonetheless, their meat still possessed a wild flavor in them.
Noticing Nan Ge Er’s hungered look, those who were roasting delivered a hind leg over once they were done cooking them—the rations they carried was ample, so they didn’t really count on those wild animals to fill their bellies. It was just to bring a change of taste.
As Nan Ge Er’s body was frail, after tearing a tiny piece for Nan Ge Er, Mo Shu didn’t feed him more of it—besides, he felt that Nan Ge Er definitely had no interest in eating that skinny, shriveled rabbit meat.
Hence, he laid the ‘rabbit jerky’ down, before scooping out a bowl of porridge from the coal-heated lunchbox
“Drink some porridge.” Mo Shu scooped a spoonful out. With one of his arms hugging Nan Ge Er, he placed the spoon near Nan Ge Er’s mouth.
Nan Ge Er shook his head and turned away, expressing his disinterest.
“Xiao Nan, be good.” Mo Shu cajoled, “It’s delicious.”
Nan Ge Er shook his head again. This time, he even buried his head into Mo Shu’s chest.
“Xiao Nan…” Mo Shu coaxed with a helpless, yet coddling tone, “Your body will not recover if you don’t eat, you know?”
“Nope.” Nan Ge Er sulked
“Why not? Didn’t you say it tastes good previously?” Mo Shu urged in concern, as he jabbed Nan Ge Er’s mouth with the spoon.
Reaching the end of his patience, Nan Ge Er removed Mo Shu’ hands, which were groping around Nan Ge Er ‘s stomach underneath the fur coat. He howled towards a certain someone, “Are you kidding? I’ve been eating this for a whole week! Even smelling it makes me want to goddamn puke! Are you trying to kill me?!”
After a brief stun, Mo Shu replied blankly, “Didn’t you say you like it?” Obviously, Nan Ge Er current resistance got him flabbergasted.
“I said I liked it a week ago. But then, you fed it to me for a week, a whole week!” Nan Ge Er felt even more indignant when he noticed Mo Shu astonished expression.
The utterly sincere look on this guy’s face is exactly why I didn’t have the heart to reject him.
I initially thought, since we are heading home, there will not be any time or suitable condition to cook porridge. Who knew that Mo Shu would actually take the chef along too, and even make some kind of thermal lunch box!
I’m seriously damned to the bone!
My days truly are unlivable!
Chapter 47
* * *
While Nan Ge Er was still moody, a rustling sound rang out from the forest nearby.
A large, pitch black head emerged from the woods at the opposite side of Nan Ge Er.
From the direction of Nan Ge Er’s line of sight, it was plainly visible.
It clearly was a colossal black bear, which should be hibernating at the period of time!
Nan Ge Er’s eyes were as wide as balls.
Was it awakened by us? Or was it hungry? Or maybe cold?
How is it possible?! How is it possible?!
Nan Ge Er attempted to calm his nerves and stabilize his chaotic thoughts.
That black bear was immense, seemingly around
300 Jin1. Although it didn’t howl and was only approaching them, from a mere glimpse at its hill-sized body, Nan Ge Er could feel the ferocity emitted by the wild beast.
“Hm?” when Mo Shu noticed Nan Ge Er’s eyes were staring straight behind him, he turned around as well, “What’s wrong?”
“Mo Shu…” Nan Ge Er gulped down, asking him with a dry mouth, “Are you able to fight with a winter bear?”
“Hm?” Mo Shu had no idea what Nan Ge Er was talking about. He just greeted at that black bear, “Quite a good harvest, huh?”
“Eh?”
Nan Ge Er was stunned.
The bear moved a little. Strictly speaking, the entirety of the bear arched upwards.
Following a thud, that patch of blackness was smashed onto the ground.
Only then did Nan Ge Er see the whole picture. It was a guy lugging the black bear over —as the size of the bear was too enormous, it completely blanketed the guy.
That was precisely why Nan Ge Er thought the black bear was going to attack…
However, his mind was evidently much more frenzied now—Oi!
Why is this so? You’re not even as heavy as this bear, right? How in the world did you manage to get this ferocious wild beast over here?!
Are you an ant?!
The thing that Nan Ge Er found unbearable was, there wasn’t even any bit of surprised cheer from the busy crowd. They simply rushed forward, with every one of them doing various chores like drawing blood away, skinning it with a knife, picking around while cutting the meat with a dagger, and even taking the bear gallbladder out…
Is it really alright to go through such a surrealistic event in such a collected way?!
Nan Ge Er didn’t even have the energy to comment.
The guy who hauled the black bear spoke a little with a few people in the busy crowd before they patted one another’s shoulders. Subsequently, he went away to change his clothes and walked in the direction of Mo Shu and Nan Ge Er after that.
At a glance, he couldn’t really be considered a muscular figure. He was slightly well-built at best but completely incapable of holding up the standard of a beefy guy.
Exactly how did he haul the bear here?!
Nan Ge Er gazed at the male, stupefied and perplexed.
That guy stopped in front of Mo Shu and greeted him, before smiling towards Nan Ge Er, “Nan Ge Er, I’m Xiao Xia’s older brother.”
“Oh…” Nan Ge Er raised his head and scrutinized the guy’s face carefully only after hearing that. The entrance of this macho male was just too sensational, which was why Nan Ge Er didn’t take note of his appearance at all.
— Indeed, he bore some resemblance to Xiao Xia, who was far away in Guang Tian.
“You are often mentioned in Xiao Xia’s letters.” Da Xia2 laughed, “He even said that you don’t like the cold and wanted me to take care of you well. So, I hunted a bear specially to have its hide made into a coat for you.”
What in the world are you thinking?! You went to hunt a gigantic black bear alone, just for me to use its hide as a fur coat?!
You are a superhero, aren’t you?!
Nan Ge Er was absolutely speechless, as black lines fall on his head. Still, he twitched his lips and smiled, “Thank you.” He inspected his body up and down, “You aren’t hurt, are you?” Although that fellow appeared to be rather relaxed and seemingly had not a trace of blood on him, Nan Ge Er still asked him casually.
Da Xia rubbed his stomach, “Speaking of which, I think I’m a little hungry.” While uttering that out, he informed Mo Shu, “Xian sheng, I’m going off to eat.” Turning his body away, he returned to the crowd.
I just knew I shouldn’t have asked.
Nan Ge Er could only feel black lines packed fully on his forehead, clueless as to what he should say.
“After we get back home, Xiao Nan will have new clothes to wear when the fur is fixed up.” Mo Shu let out a light chuckle, and stroked Nan Ge Er’s head, “How obedient.”
Winter will already be long over when the fur is fixed up and made into a coat, ok?!
Besides, how does getting new clothes have anything to do with me being obedient?!
Anyhow, am I a three-year-old kid? What’s with your ‘how obedient’?!
You’re the one who’s obedient; your whole family are the ones who are obedient!
Mo Shu completely ignored Nan Ge Er’s indignant gaze as he ruffled his hair with a smile, before frowning at the bowl in his hand, “What should I do? Xiao Nan, you aren’t eating again.”
“I’m sick of it!” Nan Ge Er rejected it heatedly.
“This is good for your body.” Mo Shu coaxed, “You want to get well soon too, right?” He attempted to squeeze the spoon into Nan Ge Er’s mouth while persuading.
“I do wish to get well quicker, but I don’t want to eat this!” Nan Ge Er dodged away and shook his head vigorously. He buried his head into Mo Shu’s chest, simply refusing to eat.
He knew what to describe his current scenario—willfulness.
This fellow is usually the one wreaking havoc in my life, so what’s wrong with me making things difficult for him this once?!
I just want to be willful; deal with it!
Indeed, Mo Shu couldn’t do anything about Nan Ge Er current willfulness. He finished the practically untouched porridge in a few gulps, before reaching out to stroke Nan Ge Er’s head, “Understood.”
Nan Ge Er knew Mo Shu had given up on feeding him porridge when he heard Mo Shu gulping. He lifted his head and looked towards Mo Shu.
“Be good and don’t move away from here.” Mo Shu wrapped Nan Ge Er tightly with a cloak, carried him up, placed him near the bonfire, and stuffed the heater inside the fur coat, “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Where to?” Nan Ge Er asked as he stared blankly at Mo Shu walking away.
“Preparing lunch for you.” Mo Shu smiled. He pulled a passerby over casually and pointed at Nan Ge Er, indicating the person to watch over him. Then, he smiled towards Nan Ge Er again, “You can’t keep having an empty stomach.”
Preparing lunch?
Nan Ge Er was a little confused—after all, he did know his body well; it was absolutely impossible for him to eat much of that barbequed food.
In a flash, Mo Shu came back with a few fish in his hand.
Nan Ge Er was able to notice those few water droplets on the hands Mo Shu let outside, and the slight pallidness of his skin.
The weather is so cold.
He could still feel the chill even when bundled up in such a thick fur coat. Everyone was wearing thick winter clothes as well.
Mo Shu was only fit; he still could feel the icy cold too.
In such freezing weather, fish were normally in the deeper waters. Catching fish in the shallow waters was just impractical.
Even Mo Shu had no choice but to endure the bitter weather when diving down to catch fish, which was why his skin froze and revealed such a color.
Mo Shu walked towards the bonfire with icy cold air around him. Perhaps he was scared that Nan Ge Er might get chilly from him, so he distanced himself quite a bit.
He took the bowl of water passed over by others agilely and poured it into the pot. Following next, he cut every part of the fishes and threw them into the pot. He got a few pieces of ginger and garlic from others and covered the pot.
Nan Ge Er, draped in a fur coat, gazed at the skilled and natural movements of Mo Shu.
After busying around, Mo Shu raised his head, looked at Nan Ge Er, and smiled, “There will be fish soup in just a moment. Be patient.”
Nan Ge Er nodded.
He pondered for a while before talking to Mo Shu again, “It’s cold. Sit over here and block the wind for me.”
Mo Shu didn’t seem to understand how Nan Ge Er was able to feel the breeze when he was sitting downwind.
Nonetheless, since the bonfire dispersed quite a bit of the chilly air he had around him after he bustled about for a while, he went over and sat next to Nan Ge Er. H
e tilted his head and asked, “Is this better? Still feeling cold?”
Nan Ge Er chuckled without replying to him.
“What’s the matter?” Feeling that there was something seemingly wrong with Nan Ge Er’s expression, he asked him a little nervously.
Instead, his hand was held by a pair of slightly cold hands.
“Still feeling cold?” The demanding little pumpkin rubbed his hand, attempting to provide some warmth to it.
Mo Shu was stunned momentarily, before curling his lips up, “Not anymore now.”
“The weather is so cold! Are you trying to kill yourself?!” He continued his grumbles.
“It isn’t that serious.” Mo Shu smiled as he looked at Nan Ge Er, who lowered his head, “It is only cold when I just entered the waters.”
“I can continue having porridge.” Nan Ge Er muttered.
Although he knew it wouldn’t actually endanger Mo Shu’s life, it was still too much of a torment.
“Sorry for making you go through this.” Mo Shu caressed his cheeks with his free hand, “It won’t be so cold when we travel southwards in a few days.”
“Un.” Nan Ge Er gave him a nonchalant reply and continued rubbing Mo Shu’s hand.
In truth, someone with cold body temperature, even if constantly well taken care of, should still cause much more concern than the other.
After a slightly helpless smile, Mo Shu lifted Nan Ge Er’s chin a little, removing his line of sight from his hand, “It is alright, it will be fine soon.”
Nan Ge Er struggled a bit but wasn’t able to free himself. He turned his head up, looking at Mo Shu a little defeatedly, “You can’t be complacent about it.” It might become frostbite!
“I’ve overcome all kinds of difficulties in the past; this is nothing.” Mo Shu laughed at Nan Ge Er’s pointless worries.
“Last time, I didn’t know about it. But now, I can’t just look on without a care.” Nan Ge Er murmured.
When Mo Shu heard Nan Ge Er muttering that, his pupils dimmed a little. He started chuckling, his laughs getting increasingly tender.
“So cute.” He whispered, “I really want to hug such a cute Xiao Nan tightly.” He withdrew his hand that was held by Nan Ge Er. With both of hands caressing Nan Ge Er’s face, he closed the gap between them, landing a soft kiss on Nan Ge Er’s lips, “But now, I just want to kiss you.”