DDT - Chapter 54
Chapter 54: General × Little Emperor (9)
Chi Junluo held her long spear in one hand and the reins in the other, urging her horse forward to catch up with the convoy of horse-drawn carts ahead.
Due to inertia, the little emperor Yi Han was pressed tightly against General Chi's front. On the slightly chilly night, a warmth enveloped them both.
Chi Junluo rode rearguard. Ahead, the horses pulling the carts galloped with a clatter. The general from the Northern Kingdom quickly caught up on his horse. When he saw that the famously cold-faced General Chi of Great Chang actually had another youth sitting on her horse, the Northern Kingdom general's jaw dropped. He even forgot he was in pursuit of the enemy. The two horses ran side-by-side. Chi Junluo turned her head to see the enemy general's idiotic expression, and three black lines of exasperation streaked across her mind.
Chi Junluo was the first to strike, thrusting her long spear. The tip was about to poke the Northern Kingdom general in the face before he finally reacted, hastily ducking to dodge her attack.
The Northern Kingdom general was filled with rage. Anyone whose provisions were burned and stolen would be furious. He brandished his own long spear and began to fight Chi Junluo on horseback.
The fury spurred the Northern Kingdom general's nerves, allowing him to fight Chi Junluo to a standstill—if one ignored the fact that Chi Junluo was also protecting someone in her arms.
Perhaps it was because of the overwhelming warmth. Nestled in General Chi's embrace, Yi Han watched the glint of blades and shadows of swords flash before his eyes. He wasn't the least bit afraid. Instead, he began to treat it as a form of entertainment, watching with great interest. He discovered that no matter how ferocious the opponent was, the long spear never came near him. General Chi could indeed protect him completely.
The Northern Kingdom soldiers behind them caught up on horseback. Hearing the sound of numerous hooves, Chi Junluo decided not to prolong the fight. With a sweep of her long spear, she pushed back the Northern Kingdom general's attack, then squeezed her horse's belly with her legs. The horse shot forward like an arrow.
The Northern Kingdom general was in the heat of battle when he was suddenly left behind. He couldn't help but curse under his breath and spurred his horse to give chase.
Because the horses from the Great Chang Zhenbei Army's raid were also pulling carts loaded with large cuts of meat and other goods, their speed was naturally affected. Seeing that the Northern Kingdom soldiers were about to catch up, a glint of delight flashed in the Northern Kingdom general's eyes. Hehehe, you dare steal my provisions? Now you can't escape, can you?!
The Northern Kingdom general was about to laugh out loud when suddenly, roars of "Charge!" erupted from both sides of the road. The general was startled. His experience in facing danger many times made him abruptly rein in his horse. He raised a hand in a signal to halt. The Northern Kingdom soldiers behind him barely managed to stop their horses. Sure enough, his intuition was correct. Not far ahead, countless soldiers of Great Chang emerged from the night. They were lined up neatly on both sides, leaving a path in the middle for the carts of stolen provisions to pass through.
Great Chang had clearly come prepared. The Northern Kingdom general was so angry he jabbed the ground with his long spear, watching unwillingly as the carts he had almost caught up to grew more and more distant. Great Chang's Zhenbei General, Chi Luo, sat on her horse before her soldiers, her expression stern and clear. It was as if she wasn't the same person who had flashed a wicked smile in the Northern Kingdom's supply camp earlier.
The Northern Kingdom general was so furious he could have vomited blood. What a cunning old fox, this general of Great Chang! Truly two-faced, putting on such a righteous and awe-inspiring act. The Northern Kingdom general wished he could tear General Chi Luo's disguise to shreds.
Before the torch-bearing soldiers of Great Chang, his face illuminated by the flames, the Northern Kingdom general's expression shifted constantly, looking as foul as if he'd swallowed something vile.
General Chi Luo maintained her cold expression in front of her many soldiers, as if plundering provisions was the most natural thing in the world for her. The handsome youth in her arms, however, had his back to everyone. His gaze revealed intense disdain and provocation. Yi Han's lips curled into a smirk, an expression that was a perfect mirror of General Chi's when she had set fire to the supply camp just moments before.
The Northern Kingdom general's eyes nearly popped from their sockets with rage. He couldn't advance another step. The men he'd brought weren't even enough to get stuck in the enemy's teeth. Finally, the Northern Kingdom general couldn't take it anymore. Muttering curses, he turned around and led his soldiers away in disgrace.
Cheers and howls from the Great Chang soldiers erupted behind them. Enraged, the Northern Kingdom soldiers whipped their reins, leaving this place of sorrow at an even faster pace.
Seeing that the Northern Kingdom soldiers had tactfully retreated, Chi Junluo finally turned her horse around, waved her hand, and signaled for her own soldiers to return to camp.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night. Long after Chi Junluo and her team had left the camp, Vice General Wei Long had ordered a massive bonfire to be lit in an open area to the north of the camp. The soldiers all pitched in. Besides the huge bonfire, there were dozens of smaller fires. They also brought out a large amount of pork. Word was that the general had ordered a night of celebration for the Zhenbei Army, and all soldiers were required to attend, with no exceptions.
Soon, the provision-raiding team led by Chi Junluo returned to the camp. Though they were few in number, they had returned fully loaded. Nearly three hundred sacks of military grain and dozens of carts of fodder dazzled the eyes of the Zhenbei Army soldiers. Many of them rubbed their hands together in excitement.
The soldiers unloaded the plundered supplies. Under Vice General Wei Long's command, the large cuts of meat and grain were distributed to the various bonfires for the soldiers to roast themselves.
For a time, the entire camp was filled with a joyous atmosphere.
But while the soldiers were celebrating wildly, Vice General Wei Long and a hundred soldiers quietly disappeared from the bonfire area.
The hundred soldiers began searching the tents one by one. Whenever they found a suspicious token or a strange keepsake, they would take the soldier's tag from under the bedding along with the suspicious object.
In the northern part of the camp, the crowd reveled. Certain soldiers of unknown identity would never have guessed that this was their last supper.
About an hour later, Vice General Wei Long returned to the bonfire and found General Chi enjoying a roasted ham. To be more precise, he found General Chi cutting the ham with her longsword and feeding it to the little emperor.
Seeing Vice General Wei Long approach, Chi Junluo knew there was a preliminary result. After Wei Long gave a brief report, Chi Junluo ordered the soldiers in question to be detained immediately. They were to be interrogated one by one throughout the night to ascertain their identities without fail.
And so, the soldiers singing and dancing by the bonfire did not notice that some people among them were being quietly led away.
As the night deepened, the soldiers, full and satisfied, returned to their tents to rest. Leaving the matter of the interrogations to her vice general, Chi Junluo eagerly led the little emperor, Yi Han, back to her own general's tent.
She ordered a soldier to bring a basin of water. After both Yi Han and Chi Junluo had washed up, they were faced with the problem of sleeping arrangements.
Both Chi Junluo and Yi Han felt rather unnatural. Chi Junluo tried hard to convince herself: I'm a man, a man, a man. There's nothing wrong with two grown men sharing a bed. Yi Han was also trying hard to imagine himself as a man, a man, a man. There's nothing wrong with two grown men squeezing into one big bed.
To avoid giving themselves away, both remained calm on the surface. One big fox and one little fox, neither showing any emotion, quietly observed the other's movements.
The tent fell into a strange silence. So as not to arouse the little emperor's suspicion, Chi Junluo made the first move and began to remove her battle armor.
Seeing General Chi start to undress, the little emperor Yi Han's heart skipped a beat. It was his first time sharing a room with a man, and now, that man was taking off his clothes. Yi Han's face grew hot, but thankfully, the light in the tent was dim, so it wasn't very noticeable.
Yi Han paused for a moment, then also began to remove his soft armor, followed by his outer and middle robes.
Chi Junluo was also secretly observing the little emperor. She was a little nervous. She had heard that ancient men liked to sleep completely naked. She was now down to her inner clothes and chest binder. She absolutely could not take off her inner clothes, or the chest binder would be exposed, and so would her identity.
Coincidentally, Yi Han also stopped at his inner clothes. Yi Han had seen his imperial elder brother sleep bare-chested, so it was very likely that General Chi also liked to sleep that way. But he couldn't strip bare himself, or his identity would be exposed. Whether General Chi would still be loyal to him then was a serious question. Besides, what woman would want to be seen naked by another man? Yi Han would not be taking off his inner clothes.
Dressed in their inner clothes, the two of them stared at each other. Seeing that the other person had also not removed their inner clothes, both breathed a sigh of relief.
Chi: So ancient men don't sleep completely naked after all.
Yi: So it's only my imperial brother who sleeps bare-chested.
It was Chi Junluo who broke the silence first. "Lincang, you go to bed first. I'll put out the lamp."
Yi Han nodded and let down his tied-up long hair. A cascade of black silk fell, nearly stunning Chi Junluo once again.
The little emperor, with his hair down… was so beautiful!
If Yi Han weren't the monarch of a nation, Chi Junluo would have truly believed he was a woman. This little emperor was simply more beautiful than any woman.
Chi Junluo suddenly thought of an ancient description for a handsome man: a face like Song Yu, looks to rival Pan An.
Yi Han was truly worthy of the description.
Yi Han didn't dawdle, pattering over to the bed. Chi Junluo blew out the candle, and the tent plunged into darkness.
Relying on memory, Chi Junluo felt her way to the bedside in the dark. By now, her eyes had adjusted to the blackness. The little emperor, Yi Han, had considerately moved to the inner side of the bed, leaving the outer side empty.
Chi Junluo got into bed as lightly as she could and lay down.
Yi Han had never shared a bed with anyone before. Right now, his body was ramrod straight, lying stiffly on the bed. He even felt a little regretful. Why on earth had he agreed to this absurd request to live together???
Chi Junluo didn't know what the little emperor was thinking, but she was a little excited inside. As soon as the little emperor fell asleep, she could do this and that, hehehe…
Bah, she could openly collect the Power of the Heavenly Dao!
Both of them lay there, somewhat stiff. The air suddenly fell quiet, so quiet that they could both clearly hear the "thump, thump, thump" of their own hearts, which even seemed to be accelerating. They both chanted silently in their minds: We're both men, we're both men…
The night wore on. Exhausted, the little emperor finally relaxed his body and fell into a deep sleep. Hearing the breathing beside her change from deliberate to even, Chi Junluo secretly rubbed her hands together. Her chance had come.
Under the cover of darkness, she gently raised her right hand and slowly reached for the little emperor's head. Just as she was about to touch him, her hand suddenly stopped. Chi Junluo called out softly, "Lincang?"
The even breathing beside her continued. Yi Han was fast asleep.
Her hand finally rested gently on Yi Han's head, and the Power of the Heavenly Dao began to transfer in a steady stream.
As if feeling the warmth in his sleep, Yi Han nuzzled his head, rolled over, and continued to sleep sweetly.
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