Passion stirred under the moon
That night, they found an inn to rest for the time being.
It seems they weren't the only ones who sensed the impending war, because the inn was overcrowded, and by the time they arrived, there was only one room left.
However, Pei Qingwu was still quite accepting of sharing a room with Gu Heng.
After settling in, Gu Heng skillfully lit the stove, and the leaping orange flames dispelled a corner of the night, bringing a little warmth.
The firelight illuminated his handsome profile, and there was a fresh bloodstain on his forehead left from being scratched by a branch during the day.
Pei Qingwu sat on the bed, hugging her knees and warming herself by the fire. The chill still felt like countless tiny needles, stubbornly drilling into her bones, making her subconsciously shrank her shoulders.
Gu Heng's gaze had been fixed on her. Upon seeing this, he immediately stood up, rummaged through his bag for a moment, and then walked over.
He draped a heavy sheepskin vest over Pei Qingwu's shoulders.
Due to the long journey, the vest carried a strong smell of horses, which was not pleasant, but it effectively kept out the cold.
Then he handed over a flat tin wine jug.
“Sister, have a couple of sips to ward off the chill,” Gu Heng said. “The wind is strong at night, and this room won’t warm up anytime soon. You’re still weak, so you can’t catch a cold.”
Pei Qingwu looked up at him.
The firelight danced behind him, outlining his tall and straight figure.
She didn't say anything more, silently took the heavy wine jug, uncorked it, and a pungent smell of alcohol rushed up.
The taste made her frown, but she still tilted her head back and took a small sip.
A burning sensation ran down my throat, and a warm feeling immediately rose in my stomach, quickly spreading to my cold limbs and bones.
She couldn't help but shiver slightly, and gently exhaled a puff of white mist carrying a strong smell of alcohol.
"That's enough, that's enough. Don't drink too much, it'll make you sad."
Seeing her movement, Gu Heng quickly reached out, grabbed the wine pot, and tried to take it back.
Just as his hand was about to touch the wine pot, Pei Qingwu's hand also happened to fall down.
Thus, his fingertips inadvertently brushed against the cold skin of her hand.
The sensation was extremely brief, like a gentle electric current brushing past.
Both of them were startled.
Gu Heng jerked his hand back as if he'd been electrocuted, his movements so quick they were almost comical.
He quickly lowered his eyes, staring at the leaping flames, but his Adam's apple clearly bobbed up and down.
Pei Qingwu also turned her head away, her gaze fixed on the leaping orange-red flames, which stung her eyelashes and made them tremble slightly.
The warmth that the strong liquor had just ignited in her stomach suddenly turned into a fierce onslaught, burning her ears and making her heart pound erratically, echoing like a drum in the silent air, making her eardrums buzz.
She was even worried that the sound would be heard by people a few steps away.
"Ahem..." Gu Heng cleared his throat, trying his best to break the suffocating awkwardness: "This, this firewood doesn't burn well, we need to add more."
As he spoke, he bent down almost awkwardly and reached for a few short pieces of firewood scattered on the ground beside him.
The movement was so large that his shoulder bumped into the corner of the simple wooden table behind him, making a dull thud.
Startled, Pei Qingwu looked up, her gaze involuntarily following him.
He turned his head to the side, intently poking at the firewood, his jawline taut, the bloodstain on his forehead particularly glaring in the firelight.
A jumble of thoughts clashed in her mind.
The flames devoured the newly added firewood, crackling even more cheerfully and loudly, while a gentle orange glow spread across the small, simple room.
The inn's walls were pitifully thin; someone dragged heavy footsteps down the corridor outside, the wooden planks creaking; muffled coughs drifted from the next room; further away, the faint, indistinct wailing of a child could be heard…
These subtle sounds intertwined, clearly penetrating through the thin door panel, reminding them of the crowding and unease of the outside world.
But it was precisely these chaotic background noises that made the suffocating silence in this small space all the more striking, like an invisible net enveloping her and him.
The cold wind, like a lurking ghost, seeped in through the barely perceptible gaps between the window frames and doors.
The cold air flowed silently along the ground, eroding the little warmth that the fire had managed to gather.
Even though Pei Qingwu was wrapped in that heavy sheepskin vest, he still felt like there was a block of ice on his back.
The chill, like a cunning snake, crept silently up my spine.
The air in the room seemed to freeze, pressing heavily on my chest.
Only the sound of flames licking the firewood persisted, crackling stubbornly.
“Sister…” Gu Heng’s voice rang out again. He finally stopped staring at the fire, turned his head slightly, but his gaze still avoided her face, only falling on the ground in front of her, where a blurry, swaying shadow was reflected.
"Let's take this wine back. It's late at night, and drinking on an empty stomach is definitely bad for your health."
He hesitated for a moment, but still reached out his hand to her.
Pei Qingwu looked at the outstretched hand.
His knuckles were distinct, his fingers were long and slender, and his palms bore thin calluses from years of martial arts practice and a few small, fresh scars.
She remained silent and did not move.
The warm current ignited by the strong liquor in her heart was still slowly surging through her limbs, fighting against the ever-invading chill and also shattering her shaky rationality.
After a moment of hesitation, Pei Qingwu nodded.
She loosened her grip on the wine pot and slowly handed it to Gu Heng.
This touch was much clearer, carrying the warmth of his fingertips, and was truly imprinted on his hand.
Twenty people froze simultaneously.
The air froze completely at that moment, and all sound disappeared, as if it had been sucked in by this brief skin-to-skin contact.
My heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, suddenly stopping for a beat before pounding wildly again, the violent throbbing against my chest as if it were about to break free of its grip.
Gu Heng's reaction was even worse. As if he had been burned by a hot iron, he pulled his hand back with such force that his entire upper body leaned backward, and he almost fell off the small wooden stool.
His chest heaved violently, as if he was forcibly suppressing some kind of power that was about to erupt.
Pei Qingwu felt a wave of dizziness, unsure whether it was from the effects of the alcohol or the suffocating tension.
She subconsciously licked her dry lips. This subtle movement caught Gu Heng's eye, but it was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, stirring up even more turbulent waves.
He suddenly raised his head, his gaze meeting hers.
"I..." The boy's voice was dry, like sand grinding together. He could only utter one word before he could no longer speak.
The fire burned behind him, outlining the silhouette of his broad shoulders and upright back.
Backlit, his facial features appeared even more defined, his jawline taut, and his tightly pursed lips conveying an extreme sense of restraint.
During the stalemate, Pei Qingwu raised his hand.
"Clatter".
A soft sound—the sound of the knot at the end of the cloak's ties being untied.
After the slight movement, she was only wearing a thin, light-colored undergarment underneath, the soft and close-fitting material outlining her slender shoulders and neck.
The firelight danced on her fair neck and collarbone, casting a warm and captivating golden halo around her.
The long journey and the chill of the night made her already thin body look even more fragile, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.
She raised her head, her gaze no longer darting away, meeting Gu Heng's shocked and almost unfocused eyes directly.
She looked at him, her voice soft: "Aheng, come closer..."
She paused for a moment: "Are you cold?"
Three words, light and airy, yet like a spark thrown into boiling oil, suddenly igniting all the pent-up magma.
Outside, the north wind suddenly intensified, carrying even larger snowflakes that lashed wildly against the windowpanes.
Inside the furnace, a charred piece of firewood finally gave way and snapped with a "crack," sending up a shower of tiny, golden-red sparks.
The sparks, like fireflies on a summer night, flickered and swirled, dancing between the two for a moment before reluctantly falling and going out.
Gu Heng's rationality was also completely burned away.
His breathing suddenly stopped, and then his chest began to heave violently, as if a long-suppressed volcano had finally found a way to release its energy.
The flames that had been ignited in his eyes instantly engulfed his entire pupils, turning them a deep red.
"elder sister……"
He strode across that half-step distance in one step, his tall figure instantly enveloping her completely.
"Ugh!" Pei Qingwu only had time to let out a short exclamation.
The next moment, the world spun around.
Gu Heng grasped her waist.
Pei Qingwu felt his body suddenly suspended in mid-air, and the scenery before his eyes blurred and spun instantly, with the glow of the furnace fire stretching into a shimmering golden-red line.
His back sank heavily into the mattress on the simple bed behind him, making a dull thud.
Gu Heng's movements did not pause at all. He leaned down and pressed down, and the sudden closeness allowed their hot breaths to intertwine without any obstruction.
Pei Qingwu's vision was completely occupied, above him were his taut jawline, his rapidly bobbing Adam's apple, and those eyes burning with terrifying flames.
She had never seen Gu Heng like this before—powerful, dangerous, unfamiliar, and full of aggression.
The overwhelming sense of oppression almost suffocated her.
“Ah…” She subconsciously wanted to call his name, trying to bring back a sliver of clarity.
At this moment, Gu Heng lowered his head.
The burning kiss silenced all her unspoken words and panic.
It was no longer just a gentle, tender touch, but a declaration of conquest.
Her lips were being pressed and sucked forcefully, with a force that seemed to want to devour her whole.
Pei Qingwu's mind went blank with a "buzz," as if a void had been created.
His presence instantly overwhelmed all her senses, robbing her of the ability to think.
The large hand that had been tightly gripping her waist was now burning hot, its scorching heat imprinted on her skin through the thin fabric of her undergarment.
Long, calloused fingers, as if carrying their own independent consciousness, began to move upwards urgently and forcefully along the contours of her body.
Her sash loosened silently, the thin fabric was peeled away, and she was suddenly exposed to the cool air, which made her instinctively shrink back, only to be completely covered by an even hotter temperature.
My vision sank into a swirling vortex of orange-red and dark brown.
The light and shadow of the fireplace twisted and shattered wildly on the ceiling, like a banner torn apart by a gale, and fragments of light and shadow fell onto her half-closed eyelids.
The touch of fingertips ignited the buried fuse, and flames exploded from the depths of the body. Pain and ecstasy blurred, turning into a blank in the mind.
The wind outside the window grew sharp, trying to penetrate the thin door panel, but was quickly dissolved by the sounds inside the room.
Time collapsed.
There is no past, no war, and no tomorrow.
A muffled sob, its origin unknown, came from someone's throat, like a choked sigh, or perhaps a confirmation of reaching the edge of an abyss.
The intertwining of lips and tongue is no longer about taking, but about sinking into depravity.
Amidst the flickering light and shadow, intertwined shadows are reflected on the wall, as the loving young man and woman climb together to the peak of love and desire.
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