Chapter 100

"Can't you draw?" Xie Chen held him and rocked him gently. Lin Shuge's neck felt slightly itchy due to his warm breath. He moved slightly, but he was chased and hugged by him again.

"I haven't even settled the score with you for what happened last time, so how can you draw these?" Lin Shuge reached out and twisted his waist.

"You have such a cruel heart, brother," he rubbed his waist, "I am quite good at painting. Although I haven't captured even one ten-thousandth of your grace and elegance, my spirit is still there." He looked down at Lin Shuge with a loving look in his eyes.

"Did I say you don't draw well?" Lin Shuge touched his hot ears when his younger brother implicitly praised his appearance. "Anyway, you are not allowed to draw anymore." He pushed Xie Chen away and said, "It's getting late. Go take a shower and go to bed early." They had to set off at dawn. Although he was young and energetic now, his body could not take it.

Xie Chen was so excited at the moment that he didn't want to rest at all, but he still obediently went out to wash up. He thought that with Lin Shuge's personality, his road to love would be long and difficult, and he thought that if he slowly persuaded him, he would be able to make him admit his feelings. He didn't expect that he would take the initiative today. Why is he still sleeping? He wants to tell the world.

When Lin Shuge saw him go out, he washed his face again, covering his red face in a daze.

After Xie Chen came back, he saw Lin Shuge still sitting at the table without moving, "Brother, don't you want to rest?"

Lin Shuge turned sideways and said, "You go ahead. I still have some official business to take care of. I..." Before he could finish his words, he let out a cry of surprise.

Xie Chen lifted him up and held him sideways. He was suddenly suspended in the air. He could only reach out and grab his collar. "Put me down quickly. This is disgraceful."

Xie Chen held him and shook him a few times, "Brother is too light, you need to take good care of yourself." Then he carried him to the bed.

Lin Shuge wished he could find a hole to crawl into. He never thought that one day he would be carried like a princess by a man.

Xie Chen put him on the bed, and Lin Shuge rolled to the side against the wall, burying his head in the quilt, but he could still feel Xie Chen's breath. He came up and lay beside him.

"Brother, aren't you going to take off your clothes?" He was so close that Lin Shuge couldn't stand the rustling sound of the clothes. "I'll sleep inside and you'll sleep outside. Don't do any strange movements and don't get too close to me without my permission." After saying that, he held up a blanket and created a barrier between the two of them.

It's better for both of you to stay away from people who are at odds with each other.

Xie Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry but he did as he was told. After all, his brother had already kissed him, so the rest was just a matter of time, so he wasn't in a hurry.

He lay down wearing only his underwear, looking at Lin Shuge who was lying with his back to him, "Brother, why are you turning your back to me?"

Lin Shuge sat up, took off his outer clothes in a lightning speed, and lay down in his snow-white inner clothes. Xie Chen's eyes were like arrows. Lin Shuge looked at him and covered his eyes with his hands, "Don't look at me, go to sleep."

Xie Chen was full of energy and didn't even think about sleeping. He pulled his hand down and held it in his hands to play with it. Lin Shuge was so upset by the kneading that he quickly pulled his hand out.

"If you move again I'll kick you off."

"Don't move, don't move. Brother, you haven't made a wish yet." Xie Chen looked at him with soft eyes.

Lin Shuge closed his eyes and thought in his mind, "It's done."

"What did you wish for? Tell me."

"A wish spoken out will not work."

“Then don’t say anything, brother. Write it for me.” Xie Chen stretched out his hand and motioned Lin Shuge to write in his hand.

Is this possible? He used his fingers to write two words on Xie Chen's palm. Xie Chen felt it carefully and replied seriously: "Okay."

He wrote the word "peace".

We will all be safe. I will come back to accompany my brother after I finish what I have to do. I will accompany my brother in whatever he wants to do, Xie Chen said in his heart.

Seeing that Xie Chen didn't say anything for a long time, Lin Shuge thought that Xie Chen didn't dare to guarantee his own safety, and said anxiously: "You are on the battlefield, and things change rapidly. We can't guarantee that you will always be safe, but you must not take risks."

Xie Chen guessed that he had indeed been scared in the past, otherwise he wouldn't have said that he was risking his life every time, but his brother was no worse, we were actually the same.

But the atmosphere was so good tonight that he was reluctant to say anything that would make Lin Shuge unhappy, so he nodded.

Unexpectedly, Lin Shuge said, "Oh, I have something to tell you. The bandits in Huya Mountain are so bold. When I saw that even the minions were holding sharp weapons, I became suspicious. Ah Chuan went to ask Yang Yan, and Yang Yan said that the source of weapons in the mountain stronghold was controlled by Yao Dajiang and Ah Lan, and he was only responsible for transporting weapons from the foot of the mountain to the mountain stronghold every time."

"However, based on the information he provided and the torture of the bandits, we found that they may have conspired with the Qiang people to privately manufacture weapons, and may even have illegally mined iron ore." Lin Shuge said with a serious expression.

"Iron ore?" Xie Chen was surprised.

Lin Shuge hummed, "This matter is of great importance. I have reported it to Envoy Wei. I think there should be news."

"Then how do they smelt iron?" Xie Chen asked. Mining and iron smelting would require specialized craftsmen and laborers. The bandits in Huya Mountain did kidnap people and take them up the mountain, but none of the people they rescued at that time were miners or ironmakers.

"Qingquanping Township is adjacent to the Qiang people." Lin Shuge expressed his guess.

Xie Chen suddenly sat up and said, "Brother, the Qiang people have had frictions with Dayan from time to time. Although Dayan has had internal conflicts in recent years, its national strength is strong. The Qiang people are not as strong as the Xiongnu. They dare not confront Dayan head-on, but they are not pushovers."

Lin Shuge suddenly remembered that Xie Chen had said that he escaped from the Qiang tribe, "Zhongxuan, how did you escape?"

Xie Chen closed his eyes and said, "I instigated civil strife among the Qiang people and escaped during the chaos."

Lin Shuge thought it was simple as he said it, but he also knew it must be extremely dangerous.

"Brother, if it is really related to the Qiang people, the Commandant's Mansion will have to take action. If the Qiang people make any movement, you must inform me." Xie Chen instructed.

Seeing the nervousness on his face, Lin Shuge ruffled his hair and said, "Of course."

Xie Chen lay down, his head rubbing against his arms, "Brother, I will tell you something later."

Lin Shuge's inner clothes were messed up by him, and a large white patch was exposed under his neck. Seeing that his eyes were not right, he quickly pulled them back up and pointed at the blanket next to him and said, "You've crossed the line."

Xie Chen ignored it, rubbing his nose against his slender neck, moving all the way down and biting his collarbone.

"I'm sorry, brother. I can't help it. Can I...can I kiss you?"

"No." Lin Shuge put his fingertips on his head, turned around and touched his collarbone. Fortunately, the skin was not broken. It couldn't be that he was a dog.

Xie Chen's aggrieved voice came from behind, but Lin Shuge covered his ears and couldn't hear anything. He couldn't hear anything.

Xie Chen hummed for a long time but there was no movement from the person beside him, so he could only stare at his back in a daze. However, Lin Shuge turned around without making any movement and was caught by Xie Chen.

Lin Shuge felt dizzy and was pressed under the quilt. Xie Chen was on top of him, pinching his chin and kissing him. He struggled hard but Xie Chen didn't move at all. He could only whimper and try to resist. Xie Chen let him go after a long time.

Lin Shuge's eyes were sparkling at this moment, with a layer of water on his lips. Xie Chen's throat tightened when he saw this. He leaned over and wanted to continue, but Lin Shuge kicked him aside. "You dare to move again?" Don't think I didn't notice your reaction.

Xie Chen slowed down, "I won't move. Have a good sleep, brother. I'll leave in an hour." He hugged Lin Shuge tightly in his arms, and the two of them squeezed together tightly.

Lin Shuge originally wanted to struggle, but when he heard Xie Chen say that they would leave in another hour, he stopped moving. Oh, just hug it, it won’t cost you any meat anyway.

Lin Shuge fell asleep unknowingly. Xie Chen listened to his shallow breathing, his mind distracted. He touched his right hand with the bracelet on it, leaned over and kissed him in the hair, feeling both uncomfortable and sweet. He kept his eyes open and waited for time to come.

When Lin Shuge woke up, it was already daybreak. He touched the bed and felt it was cold. It seemed that Zhongxuan had left.

He got out of bed, put on his clothes, picked up the note on the table and read it.

"Brother, is this settled? When I come back, I want a formal status."

With a smile on his face, he put the note into a box and prepared to go out to wash up and have breakfast. Today is a day off and there is nothing else important happening in the county, so I might as well just lie down and do nothing all day.

"Sir, someone from Nanxiang came to report this morning about what I told you yesterday, saying that there is some progress." When Chu Xu saw him come out, he hurried to report.

"Okay, wait a moment, we'll go there together." Lin Shuge's face changed slightly. It seemed that the iron mine matter was indeed related to the Qiang people.

After he simply washed up, he walked out with Chu Xu and met Lu Yuechuan and Yang Yan on the way.

"Sir, we have something to ask you."

"The jail officers interrogated them again. Today, some bandits couldn't hold on any longer and revealed some information. The place where they traded was at the border of Pingxiang, where the mountains are high and the forests are deep, so it's very hidden." Lu Yuechuan said to Lin Shuge with a serious expression.

"That's great. You all can come with me." Lin Shuge said.

A group of people came to Pingxiang.

"Sir, this is Qingchuan. Some villagers have seen people dressed in Qiang costumes here. But the county government was headed by a jerk named Ma at the time. The villagers were afraid of causing trouble and thought it was better to have less trouble than more, so they did not report to the officials." Chu continued.

"Where did you meet them? What were the Qiang people doing at that time?" Lin Shuge asked.

"I asked carefully. It happened in the valley over there. The villagers got here by mistake. Qingchuan is usually infested with wild beasts and few people go there. The Qiang man was with several bandits at the time. The villagers had seen one of the bandits. His name seemed to be A Lan." Chu Xu replied.

Alan?

Lin Shuge and Lu Yuechuan looked at each other and saw the caution in each other's eyes. As expected, this group of bandits not only robbed the people, but also conspired with the Qiang people. They really deserved to die.

"After you got rid of the bandits, I guess the Qiang people didn't make any unusual moves until they heard from them. Today, a villager came to me and said that they saw the Qiang people here again."

Lin Shuge looked at Yang Yan, and Yang Yan could only say, "Sir, I really don't know these. I entered Huya Mountain by mistake, and could only pretend to be friendly with them. Because I saved Yao Dajiang once, he saw that I had some ability, so he promoted me to be the second in command. As for the iron mine, it should have been there before I arrived at the mountain stronghold."

"I'm not doubting you. Do you have the impression that Yao Dajiang or A Lan would come out at a fixed time every month or so, and they would avoid people?" Lin Shuge said, looking at the valley in the distance.

Fixed time? Yang Yan thought about it and said, "Yes, starting from June this year, he will take A Lan down the mountain every 20th of every month, saying that it is to pay tribute to the former second in command."

The 20th of every month, isn’t that today? Everyone was shocked in their hearts.