The two emerged from the underground palace around two or three in the afternoon. Cheng Duo knew the direction of Yang Village, but the mountain road was difficult to traverse, especially since his legs were still not fully functional. As the sky grew darker, Cheng Duo decisively stopped by a small pond.
"Let's spend the night here."
Yong-ge had no objections. "Okay."
Cheng Duo found an old iron pot in the space, and Yong-ge picked a branch of mountain pepper nearby. The rich aroma of the meat soup quickly wafted through the forest, making one's mouth water.
During the cooking, Yong-ge glanced at the strips of cloth on Cheng Duo's body that had changed color and expressed some concern. "Shall I clean your wounds for you?"
Cheng Duo nodded. This time, perhaps due to the fusion of the crystal nucleus and the severe internal injuries, his wounds were healing slowly, especially the area on his shoulder that had been bitten by the head wolf, which had started to decay and fester.
He took off his shirt and sat down with his back facing Yong-ge.
Yong-ge looked at Cheng Duo's broad back, and his cheeks turned slightly red. But as soon as his fingers touched the protruding shoulder blades and the row of bones beneath them, he calmed down.
Yong-ge had a small knife in his hand, which he had used to deal with the wolf corpse before. Following Cheng Duo's instructions, he heated the knife over the fire and then untied the strips of cloth on Cheng Duo's body to help treat the wounds.
"Does it look bad?" Cheng Duo turned his head slightly to ask.
Yong-ge shook his head. "The first time I saved you, the wounds were much worse. The flesh on your chest was turned inside out, and I gritted my teeth and pushed it back."
At that time, Yong-ge was quite surprised. Cheng Duo had suffered such severe injuries, yet his recovery speed was incredibly fast. Within two days, the flesh had grown back.
Now he knew it was due to the physique of an ability user. Yong-ge carefully touched the festering wound on Cheng Duo's shoulder, feeling distressed. "When will your body recover?"
"Soon," Cheng Duo vaguely replied. He had a premonition that when the space fully fused, his power, abilities, and physique would all return.
Yong-ge understood that the longer he hesitated to treat Cheng Duo's wounds, the longer he would suffer. So, when he removed the rotten flesh, he did it as cleanly as possible, and in the end, he carefully wiped the area around the wound with a clean cloth.
"Does it hurt?"
Cheng Duo's expression didn't change. "No."
Compared to everything he had experienced before, these minor wounds really weren't anything.
"I won't bandage you tonight. Let the strips of cloth dry, and I'll bandage them tomorrow. Didn't you buy some golden wound medicine from the peddler? Do you still have some left? Go back and apply it quickly."
"Will you help me apply it?" Cheng Duo teased Yong-ge with a smile in his eyes. "You've seen it already, my wounds are on my back. If you don't help me, I can't reach."
Cheng Duo was a big man, and now, taking advantage of his injury, he acted cute with his wife and teased him, wanting to see Yong-ge's embarrassed face.
At first, Yong-ge didn't react. After considering Cheng Duo's reasoning, he softly responded, "I'll help you apply it then."
But Cheng Duo persisted, "After treating the wounds on my back, there are still wounds on my thighs. Should I take off my pants?"
Yong-ge's face instantly turned red. "You… you can handle the wounds on your thighs yourself!"
"I'm injured," Cheng Duo said righteously, "And you made me cut my own flesh when I was so weak. Are you willing to let me do it myself?"
Yong-ge indeed didn't want to, but based on his upbringing, it was too embarrassing to look at another man's body like this before getting married!
If Cheng Duo were unconscious, it would be a different story, but he was awake now!
"I… I can't…"
Seeing Yong-ge's cheeks almost smoking red with embarrassment, Cheng Duo couldn't help but hold back his laughter and said, "Alright, alright, I'll do it myself. I won't force you."
In fact, Cheng Duo didn't want Yong-ge to see his weak body. In his mind, a real man should be strong and mighty. What if Yong-ge saw too much and thought he was weak?
Hearing Cheng Duo's words, Yong-ge felt relieved but also couldn't help feeling guilty. "But can you… do it yourself?"
A real man can do anything. In order to prove that he was capable, Cheng Duo used the tree branch that Yong-ge had been using as a crutch and stood up step by step, finally reaching a large rock by the edge of the pond.
During that time, Yong-ge wanted to support Cheng Duo, but he was refused.
Because he had dealt with his wounds, Cheng Duo ate a bellyful of pork soup and instant noodles that night before lying down to sleep early.
As he dozed off in a daze, he suddenly heard the sound of water splashing from the pond. Cheng Duo glanced towards the campfire and noticed that Yong-ge was indeed not there.
Cheng Duo remained lying down without moving and simply raised his voice, "The water is cold at night, don't stay in there for too long."
The water sound immediately stopped. After a while, Yong-ge replied softly, "Oh."
Cheng Duo closed his eyes again, but he wasn't asleep. He waited until Yong-ge returned with a body covered in water vapor before opening his eyes to look at him. "Can't you wait even for one night?"
Only after saying that did Cheng Duo realize that his words seemed suggestive.
However, he didn't have time to dwell on the implications. Yong-ge, with his disheveled ink-black hair and a vivid mole between his eyebrows, appeared as a handsome water spirit emerging from the water, still dripping with droplets.
"Yong-ge…" Cheng Duo felt a tickle in his throat and coughed lightly.
Yong-ge didn't dare to look at Cheng Duo and adjusted his collar while sitting next to the campfire, adding a few pieces of firewood. "Did I wake you up? I went to pick the mountain pepper. I was afraid the smell would be too strong, so I hurried to wash…"
Cheng Duo chuckled. Should he act surprised? Yong-ge was always so thrifty and diligent!
But Cheng Duo didn't expose him. The scent of mountain pepper was only clinging to his clothes. Yong-ge had hurriedly taken a bath and washed his hair, probably worried about his appearance in front of Cheng Duo?
Cheng Duo looked at Yong-ge's dripping hair and said, "Yong-ge, come here."
"Hmm?"
Although Yong-ge didn't understand, he obediently sat in front of Cheng Duo as he suggested.
Using his hand as a comb, Cheng Duo slowly shook out and untangled Yong-ge's wet hair. "Washing your hair so late at night, aren't you afraid it won't dry?"
Yong-ge was pleasantly surprised. "I… I can do it myself."
"That won't do. We should return the favor. You take care of my wounds, and I'll help you dry your hair… Unless you find me undesirable?"
"No," Yong-ge quickly denied. Of course, he didn't find Cheng Duo undesirable. In the village, it was rare for men to help their women or gers with such intimate matters. Moreover, they probably felt it damaged their reputation as men.
Cheng Duo was already considerate enough. He didn't expect that he would be willing to help dry his hair too.
"Yong-ge, when your father returns, I'll go to your house and propose?"
His wife was becoming more and more beautiful, and Cheng Duo had initially wanted to take his time, but now he felt a sense of urgency.
Yong-ge seemed to have been waiting for those words. He immediately nodded. "Okay."
After saying that, he lowered his head shyly.
Cheng Duo smiled. "What if your father disagrees?"
"He won't. My father thinks you're a good person…" Yong-ge suddenly remembered something and stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, after he heard that you had a fiancée, he changed his mind and asked me to keep my distance from you."
"…"
Cheng Duo suddenly felt like he had trapped himself. Should he find someone to spread the news that his nonexistent fiancée had already gotten married?
As for the missing marriage document, he could easily explain that he lost it during their escape.
But who should he choose to deliver the message?
Cheng Duo had limited acquaintances in this world. The first person he thought of was Meng Ji, but it was said that Meng Ji had left and there was no telling when he would return. That left only Wei Ling.
Thinking of Wei Ling, Cheng Duo naturally remembered Yong-ge's tiger bone whistle. "You gave your tiger bone whistle to Wei Ling?"
Yong-ge raised his hand and realized that he had forgotten to bring the tiger bone whistle that had been hanging around his neck. Presumably, he had left it at home in his haste that night.
Wasn't Wei Ling staying at Cheng Duo's house? Did he see it in his possession?
Yong-ge felt a bit scared. He had given the whistle to Cheng Duo before, but Cheng Duo didn't take it. But then he had turned around and given it to Wei Ling. If Cheng Duo misunderstood, what would he think of Yong-ge?
Yong-ge hurriedly explained, "No, he said he wanted to replicate it, so I let him take a look. It was just a loan, I didn't give it to him. As an exchange, he promised to teach me archery…"
The more Yong-ge spoke, the worse he felt. Teaching archery was already an intimate act, not to mention that he had also accepted the bow and arrows that Wei Limg had given him. Would Cheng Duo think that he had not only provoked him but also provoked Wei Ling?
Seeing Yong-ge on the verge of tears, Cheng Duo quickly reassured him, "Alright, I believe you. Don't worry."
"No, before General Wei left, he also gave me a bow and arrows. I accepted it…" Yong-ge didn't dare to hide anything and blurted it all out.
"I know," Cheng Duo said before realizing that he had let something slip and immediately changed his wording. "I mean, since he taught you archery, it's not a big deal for him to give you a bow and arrows."
Cheng Duo knew that despite Yong-ge always placing himself in a humble position due to his background and education, no matter how lowly a person is, when they are pushed and pulled by someone they like, regardless of the other person's intentions, Yong-ge wouldn't feel good about it.
Cheng Duo knew that Yong-ge was easy to coax, but just because he was easy to coax didn't mean he wouldn't be hurt.
Is that all?!
Yong-ge couldn't believe it. Although he knew that he and General Wei were innocent, in Cheng Duo's eyes, would he not feel upset that Yong-ge had accepted gifts from another man?
In the village, even if a wife merely spoke a few extra words to someone outside, their husbands would come home and scold or even beat them.
Cheng Duo said, "Uh, let's forget about what happened before. In the future, I'll make things for you. We don't need his things."
Cheng Duo saying "we" sounded like they were a family, which made Yong-ge happy, but he couldn't help but worry. "Aren't you angry?"
"Of course… I'm angry!"
Cheng Duo had now fully grasped the situation. Thinking about Wei Ling's special treatment of Yong-ge and his own feelings while watching Wei Ling teach Yong-ge archery from the tree branch, a long-lost jealousy suddenly surged within him. He looked at Yong-ge with a frustrated expression and said, "But I'm not angry at you, I'm angry at that bastard Wei Ling."
And at himself.
"You promised him, but from now on, I'll take care of you. You don't need to pay attention to him."
He didn't believe that Wei Ling had no ulterior motives towards Yong-ge. After all the things Wei Ling had done, even coming from a far distance, it couldn't be just because he thought Yong-ge resembled his younger cousin!