Chapter 73 Their love was deep and tender.
Under the watchful eyes of several people, Pei Heng turned his head to the side, his voice low and hushed, carrying a hint of displeasure at being disturbed.
"It's me."
The private soldiers were taken aback. By the moonlight, they recognized him as someone favored by their leader. Their expressions changed from curiosity to ingratiatingness. "So it's Instructor Zhang."
Her gaze unconsciously drifted towards his chest.
The young woman buried her face in the man's chest, only her wet black hair and slightly trembling shoulders showing. Her bare legs, tucked in the stream, emitted a very soft, tearful whimper, as if she were terrified.
What else is there to understand? The private soldiers smiled and quickly lowered their heads.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were here, Instructor... We're on business now, we'll be going now!"
The leader was quite perceptive; he waved his hand, stopping them from going any further: "Go take a look over there! Don't disturb the instructor's enjoyment!"
The group quickly turned around, their footsteps heading away from the cliff, afraid of causing trouble if they were even a step too slow.
Only when the footsteps disappeared into the depths of the forest did Yuezhi, nestled in the young man's arms, finally breathe a sigh of relief. Her legs were weak, and she relied entirely on Pei Heng's arm, which was holding her tightly, for support.
“They’re gone…” Her voice was weak as she steadied herself and urged him, “You should go now, I’m alright.”
She nudged him, but Pei Heng didn't move.
She looked up in confusion, only to meet a pair of unfathomable eyes.
Under the moonlight, the young man's eyes were dark, and a familiar yet frightening heat rose from his eyes as he stared intently at her soaked bodice clinging to her body and the curves that were faintly visible below her collarbone.
The stream was clear, and the thin bodice she wore, which had been made from an inner skirt, was already wet from the splashing water. It clung stickily to her skin, outlining her undulating curves, making one's face flush and heart race even more than if she were completely naked.
In the heat of the moment, she didn't realize anything was wrong. But now that the danger was over and he was staring at her with those eyes, Yuezhi belatedly realized how intimate their posture had been.
She lowered her face and pinched his hard waist shyly: "What are you looking at! Get back to business!"
Pei Heng's Adam's apple bobbed heavily, his arms tightened around the body, and his voice was hoarse: "They just left, they might come back. If we're going to put on an act... we have to go all the way to make it look real."
He lowered his head, his hot breath brushing against her ear.
Yuezhi's heart skipped a beat. She understood what he meant, and her face burned even hotter. She felt anxious and ashamed, afraid that he would really do something reckless here.
However, with her clothes disheveled and under his control, she could only soften her voice and coax him gently, "Don't make trouble... important matters are at hand. Go and check things out first. We can talk about this later... later, okay?"
Her soft, sweet voice, still carrying lingering panic and shyness, stirred his heart, adding fuel to the fire.
Pei Heng stared at her watery eyes and flushed cheeks, took a deep breath, and suppressed the restless flames in his heart.
He knew she was right, but the timing was wrong, so he let go of her. Yuezhi's legs went weak, and she almost lost her balance.
Suddenly, he bent down, scooped her up from the flowing stream, picked up her clothes and shoes from the rocks, and walked a few steps to the dry grass on the bank, where he put her down.
Before Yuezhi could cry out in surprise, he suddenly leaned down, wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, lifted her high, and tilted his head back to kiss her lips heavily, with a fierce force that was both unwilling and filled with a passionate and reluctant love.
Yuezhi felt dizzy and weak all over from the kiss.
After a long while, Pei Heng finally released her, his breathing heavy and his eyes still dark. He touched her swollen lips with his fingertip and said in a hoarse voice, "Wait here."
After saying that, he turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing into the darkness of the forest, stealthily heading towards the cliff.
Yuezhi stood alone, clutching her clothes, and slumped onto the grass, covering her burning cheeks and stinging lips. Her heart was pounding, and she was completely blushing. She couldn't come to her senses for a long time.
What is she doing?
It was absurd, shameful, yet I enjoyed it immensely.
The night breeze blew on my soaked body, but it couldn't dispel the heat; even the dampness was almost dried by my body heat.
Yuezhi quickly tidied herself up, put on her shoes and socks, and tied her belt. She had only been sitting for a short while when she heard rustling footsteps coming from the bushes.
She instinctively grabbed the stone beside her, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Pei Heng's figure emerge from the shadows.
"Have you decided on everything?"
"Okay." Pei Heng helped her up. "Let's go home."
Yuezhi nodded and walked alongside him. After taking only a few steps, Pei Heng frowned quietly beside her, "Isn't it too formal to walk like this? Judging by the time, that patrol of private soldiers will be here soon."
"Then how do we get there?" Yuezhi asked, puzzled.
“I’ll carry you back.” Pei Heng took two steps and stood in front of her, squatting down to expose his back to her. “That’s how a real couple sneaking out for a nighttime getaway should act. Get on.”
Yuezhi hesitated for a moment. Having overheard the women's gossip during the day, her heart warmed, and she kicked his thigh. "Carrying you out, after all the commotion in the woods, carrying you back makes you seem very capable, right?"
Pei Heng chuckled, "A little bit of cleverness, it depends on whether my sister gives me the chance."
Yuezhi snorted at him, but still climbed onto his back.
Pei Heng stood up steadily, supporting her legs, and walked home step by step in the moonlight filtering through the shadows of the trees.
Sure enough, they hadn't gone far when a group of people passed by them from behind the bushes, and laughter and chatter rose from the woods.
"This young couple really knows how to have fun. Look how tired the young lady is, she has to be carried on his back."
"Tsk tsk, marrying a beautiful wife really makes a difference. You can't even see her face, just look at her waist, so supple and graceful..."
“Instructor Zhang is quite capable. Let alone a romantic bath or sitting in the open air, even if things get a bit wilder, his wife would be willing.”
The men joked without a care for others, their words and laughter reaching Yuezhi's ears. She buried her face in Pei Heng's back, her fingers clutching his clothes tightly.
Pei Heng seemed not to hear her, and continued walking steadily forward, even deliberately bumping her, which made her gasp in surprise. She then punched him on the shoulder in embarrassment and indignation, which made the laughter from behind the bushes even louder.
"Is it fun to put on an act in front of others?" Yuezhi whispered to him, pinching his arm in embarrassment and annoyance, but she didn't hear him beg for mercy. Instead, he laughed uncontrollably.
"It's so much fun!"
As they rounded the foot of the mountain, the sounds disappeared, and the playful banter between the two subsided.
Moonlight spilled onto the mountain path, casting long shadows of two people.
Yuezhi pressed her cheek against his broad back and remembered many years ago when the young boy, whose frame had just grown, carried her across the dirt road of Wangshan Village. At that time, she was still in shock, but when she lay on his still thin but firm back, she felt no fear.
Time has passed, and his back has become strong and reliable. Their relationship has also become complicated, and after many twists and turns, it has returned to the starting point in another way.
Looking at the two shadows intertwined on the ground, Yuezhi asked softly, "Pei Heng, what is our relationship now?"
She sensed Pei Heng pause for a moment, then continue forward.
“Men and women.” His voice was clear and calm.
Yuezhi paused for a moment, then smiled silently.
Yes, it's not that complicated. Stripped of all past grievances and entanglements, they are just a man and a woman who, by chance, came together and became companions.
She didn't ask any more questions, but simply hugged his neck tighter, feeling the warmth from his back. Pei Heng also tightened his arms around her and quietly slowed his pace.
The moonlight is so beautiful; we should savor it slowly.
*
The next day, Pei Heng left before dawn, repeatedly reminding her to prepare some dry food and bedding before he left.
He rarely spoke with such a serious tone, and Yuezhi knew that the time had come for him to speak. After seeing him off, she took her basket and went to the market.
The market remained a bustling and peaceful scene, with women exchanging goods and chatting loudly.
Yuezhi bought some easy-to-store flatbreads and steamed buns from a stall she frequented, weighed out a lot of dried fish and meat, and bought two pieces of oilcloth to protect against wind and moisture. She carefully wrapped them up and put them in her basket.
Thinking that he would have to cook another meal tonight, he bought some seafood and picked out some fresh vegetables from the farmer's stall, intending to spend all the reward money Pei Heng had received.
Seeing that she had bought a basket full of things, the farmer's wife casually asked, "Why did you buy so much stuff today?"
Yuezhi smiled and said, "My husband said there will be strong winds tonight and it might rain tomorrow, so we might as well stock up on some extra."
The peasant woman casually agreed, then started rambling on about other things, quickly losing her attention to other matters.
Yuezhi lifted the heavy basket and reminded her before leaving, "It's windy tonight, so don't go out after dinner, lest you catch a cold at night, and there's a shortage of medicine on the island."
"Yes!" the peasant woman replied kindly.
As Yuezhi headed towards the market exit, just as she was pondering what else she needed to buy, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure came into her view.
It's that sick woman.
Yuezhi almost didn't recognize her at first glance.
The woman's illness was clearly much better. Her face was covered with cheap cosmetics, her lips were painted bright red, and she wore a seductive soft dress that was completely out of place with the plain clothes that were everywhere on the island. Her dress was half open, and her bodice was almost showing.
She was leaning against a stall, giggling at the men surrounding her. Her fingers casually brushed against one of their arms, her eyes sparkling with flirtatious intent. The men were clearly enjoying her charm and laughed and joked with her.
The woman turned her head and saw Yuezhi as well.
Her smile froze for a moment, then she rolled her eyes, pursed her lips, turned her head away, and deliberately pressed herself against a man.
That attitude clearly said: See? I have a man protecting me too, and I'm not doing any worse than you! You're just lucky to have hooked up with a capable man, and you're hogging him and won't let anyone touch him. What's so high and mighty about that?
Yuezhi stood still and watched quietly for a moment.
An elderly woman passing by followed her gaze, stopped, scoffed disdainfully, and muttered, "Young lady, don't bother looking at him. That kind of person is hopeless."
Yuezhi looked over in confusion, only to see the old woman continue, "I heard she did that kind of work before coming to the island. She got too old to sell for much, so the madam sold her onto a ship. Some kind people helped her before, but all she knows how to do is serve men. She doesn't know anything else, and she won't learn anything. She complains about the fishy smell when picking seafood and the dirt when planting vegetables. She's really hard to please. Even if you pull her out of the mud, she'll turn around and crawl back into that mud pit. She thinks that's the most comfortable place to lie. There's no hope for her!"
Yuezhi withdrew her gaze and nodded gently to the kind old woman, but her heart felt heavy and she couldn't breathe.
She watched the women in the market, some numb, some shrewd, some struggling, some indulgent, trying to survive. She watched them fight and compromise for a meal, a new dress, or a man's protection on this island.
It seems that from the day they disembarked, they had become accustomed to the rules here. As pitiful people who could be bullied by everyone, they were trapped in an invisible cage. How tragic!
And all of this, this seemingly stable order, the filth and malignancy hidden beneath the calm, will be completely destroyed tonight.
She gripped the basket tightly in her hand, turned and left.
Back home, while the sun was still shining, I took out all the bedding and aired it out. I also packed the dry food I had bought and my few clothes into a dry wooden basin, wrapped it in an oilcloth, and placed it in the house.
After packing her luggage, she began preparing the ingredients: several plump sea fish, dark blue-green flower crabs, a handful of thick razor clams and sea snails, and then slowly and methodically prepared dinner.
As the soft light of dusk streamed into the courtyard, Pei Heng returned. He smelled the aroma wafting from the kitchen and instinctively tensed up.
I hurried over and sure enough, it was Yuezhi who was busy.
He rushed over and pushed the person away from the stove, nagging, "I told you you don't need to do these rough jobs. The kitchen is smoky, be careful the hot water and oil fumes don't splash on you."
Yuezhi didn't speak, but smiled and handed him the wooden spatula. "I know you care about me, but I thought you might not be able to taste my cooking again, so I made these. They're all cooked through, just waiting for you to come back and eat."
This was their last meal on the island.
Crab and sea fish are steamed to retain their original flavor, razor clams are stir-fried with scallions and ginger, and sea snails are simply blanched. The most challenging dish is the two bowls of knife-cut noodles she makes, garnished with shredded egg and a few glossy greens, with an irresistible aroma.
Looking at the hot meal on the table, Pei Heng felt as if he had returned to his childhood. Back then, he was silly and couldn't cook anything. Having grown accustomed to the delicacies of the palace, when he suddenly went hungry for several months, he felt that Yue Zhi's cooking was the most delicious food in the world, and he could never get enough of it.
He missed the delicious food, but he couldn't bear to see her working so hard in the smoky kitchen.
While eating, she said with concern, "The food is delicious, but you shouldn't go into the kitchen anymore. You have an old eye condition and can't stand the smoke, and your hands too... An embroiderer's hands are the most precious. Even if you don't make a living from this, you still like to embroider and sew to pass the time. Don't roughen your hands so that you can't even do the embroidery you love anymore."
"Mmm." Yuezhi responded gently, like an older sister, a wife, a woman, but not like a complete stranger.
After dinner, Pei Heng got up and neatly cleared away the dishes, as if it were just another ordinary night.
After everything was tidied up, he looked out the window. It was already getting dark, and there were scattered lights in the distance. It was dinnertime for most families, and there were hardly any people around outside.
"Let's go," he said in a low voice.
Yuezhi nodded, picked up the wooden basin filled with food and clothing that she had packed, rolled up the quilt with an outer layer of oil paper, and tied it to Pei Heng's back with a rope, making it seem as if it had no weight.
The two did not blow out the oil lamp on the table, creating the illusion that there were still people in the room. They gently pushed the door open and went out, then gently closed the door behind them.
Using the patrol patterns they had figured out over the past few days, the two avoided main roads and instead chose to walk in shady areas and among low bushes.
Their footsteps were light, one in front of the other, and their movements were swift. Occasionally, the footsteps of patrolling soldiers and the light of lanterns would approach, and the two would immediately disappear into the darkness, holding their breath until the danger had passed.
The journey was thrilling but safe, and we soon arrived at the steep cliff edge of the back mountain. A few wisps of dark clouds floated in the night sky, the wind and water were calm, a harbinger of a storm.
Pei Heng looked down; the waves were crashing against the rocks, but not as intensely as when he had come to investigate the previous night.
He took his luggage downstairs first, then quickly returned and beckoned Yuezhi to come forward: "Hold me tight."
Yuezhi immediately went up to him, hugged his waist, buried her face in his chest, Pei Heng embraced her, took a deep breath, and with a light touch of his toes, his figure silently soared down the steep cliff like an eagle.
A sudden feeling of weightlessness washed over her. Yuezhi closed her eyes tightly and hugged the man even tighter, hearing only the whistling wind in her ears and his steady heartbeat.
Soon, my feet touched the ground.
She opened her eyes and found herself in front of a cave hidden under a cliff. The entrance was cleverly blocked by rocks. As she walked deeper in, the cave was surprisingly dry. In addition to the luggage the two of them had brought, there were some dried firewood and a water bag.
Pei Heng put her down: "The firewood prepared during the day should be enough to burn all night, to drive away the dampness and keep you warm."
He paused, placed his hands on her shoulders, faced her, and said seriously, "Yuezhi, no matter what happens outside, no matter what you hear or see, absolutely do not go out. Stay here and wait for me to come back."
Moonlight couldn't penetrate the cave, and no fire was lit. As Yuezhi looked at his silhouette blurred by the night, she suddenly remembered three years ago.
It was around this time of year, the eve of his departure with the Liangzhou army, that he asked her to wait for his return, and she was gone for several months.
This time, when he returns having accomplished his mission, their pretense of marriage will come to an end. There will be no longer any reason for them to be bound together. Separated by vast distances, they may never again experience this intimacy in this lifetime.
Thinking of this, her heart suddenly ached, and a strong sense of reluctance and longing instantly overwhelmed her.
She suddenly reached out and hugged him tightly from the front, burying her face deeply in the crook of his neck, which smelled of the sea breeze.
Pei Heng was taken aback by the sudden hug. Thinking she was scared, he lowered his head to comfort her, but in the dim light, he met her upturned face.
There was no fear, only an intense, overwhelming longing. Her beautiful eyes shone brightly in the darkness, clearly reflecting his image.
His heart felt as if it had been violently struck.
Their time as husband and wife, both real and unreal, was about to end, and how could he bear to part with it?
Reason and restraint crumbled at that moment. He tightened his arms around her, almost roughly lifting her off the ground, and lowered his head to kiss her.
The hurried, sticky kiss carried the reluctance of parting, burning with each other's fervent desire, the kiss deepening and deepening, like a flood about to burst its banks.
Yuezhi let out a soft hum, not struggling, but instead clinging even tighter to his waist and abdomen, her lips responding awkwardly yet proactively, shortening the distance between them, thinking of nothing but the other person and the tender intimacy of the moment.
Pei Heng supported her back with one arm, carrying her to the depths of her vagina. With his other hand, he untied the blankets, spread them out smoothly, and gently placed her on them. He then covered her with his body, their kisses never parting, as if he wanted to imprint her scent into his very bones.
"It's so cold." Yuezhi stretched her neck, her body like a peeled egg, white and smooth, exposed to the air.
Pei Heng kissed her brows and eyes, his strong arms encircling her beneath him. "Are you warm now?"
Yuezhi was too busy to respond to him. She let out a soft "hmm," which earned her even more attentive care. His hot breath brushed against her earlobe, "You'll get warm soon."
He was completely at ease, his forehead damp with sweat, his phoenix eyes narrowed as he looked down at the beautiful scene before him. He leaned down tenderly to kiss her lips, and even whispered to her between breaths.
"Sister, do you think if we keep doing this, will... we get another baby?"
"Probably not. It's only been a few times. No matter how useful I am, I'm not that lucky to have another child with you."
"Yuezhi, don't bite your lip... Tell me if you like it, I like your voice."
"You're so beautiful, you look amazing! I love every part of you. What about you?"
"Sister, am I not good enough? You don't even say you like me. I'll be sad... If I'm not feeling well, you know how annoying I'll be. What if I hurt you?"
Yuezhi couldn't stand it anymore, her tense hands digging into his arm. "Where did you get the strength to talk so much!"
“I like it even if you scold me.” He smiled happily, making his breath even more broken.
Outside the cave, the waves relentlessly crashed against the rocks, their roar drowning out the increasingly rapid breathing and clattering heartbeats inside.
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