DDT - Chapter 63
Chapter 63: General × Little Emperor (18)
Dawn was breaking, well past the time Chi Junluo usually woke up.
The calls of street vendors began to echo from the streets, along with the chatter of passersby and the creaking of carriage wheels.
The noise finally woke Chi Junluo.
She reached up to rub her dry eyes. Her head still throbbed faintly, but compared to yesterday, it was mostly fine.
Damn it, what exactly happened yesterday?
Chi Junluo opened her eyes to the sight of a mahogany bed canopy, with faint light streaming in from the window.
This was a high-class inn room.
Right. Last night, she had fled the Imperial City in a panic. The damn poison had taken effect, and she had forced herself to hold on until the young emperor, Yi Han, arrived with a number of Zhenbei Army soldiers. And then…
Then, it seemed Yi Han had held her in his arms, and after that, they had somehow ended up at an inn.
Many details were a blur. Chi Junluo only remembered that the young emperor's body felt very comfortable, refreshingly cool.
And then, she seemed to have uncontrollably pulled him into her embrace…
The last thing she remembered was Lincang's kiss on her lips…
Fuck!
Chi Junluo shot up in bed, startled. The young emperor had kissed her! What happened next?
What happened next? It seemed she had been the one to lose control and kiss him first!
That was it. She had been incredibly thirsty at the time, but she'd gotten annoyed with the cup, thinking it was in the way, and knocked it to the floor. So in the end… she had quenched her thirst like that!
She vaguely remembered hearing something about some goddamned "Joyous Powder" last night. It must have been poison from that bastard, the Fourth Prince! Having seen plenty of wuxia and palace intrigue dramas, Chi Junluo certainly knew what "Joyous Powder" was!
That dog of a man actually used such a bizarre poison on her, the great Zhenbei General! It was utterly disgusting!
Chi Junluo tried hard to remember, but her memory stopped at that final kiss. After that, it was a complete blank. It seemed she had lost consciousness.
A belated thought struck Chi Junluo. She threw back the covers and saw that while her battle robes had been removed, her outer and inner clothes were all still neatly on her body. She looked around but didn't see Yi Han. Only then did she relax enough to slip a hand inside her inner garment. The chest binding was still securely in place, undisturbed.
So… nothing further happened between them last night?
Right, she had the Power of the Heavenly Dao to cure the poison. Although it had been active for a while, once the power removed the toxin and she was cured, she shouldn't… still want it, right?
Eek. Chi Junluo covered her face with her hands, the tips of her ears turning bright red.
So embarrassing! Aaaah!
Thank goodness they didn't go all the way. Otherwise, her identity might have been exposed.
Chi Junluo didn't dare to imagine the consequences if her identity were revealed.
But, the young emperor Yi Han had let her do as she pleased, without any resistance. Could it be… the young emperor… had been turned gay???
Chi Junluo lowered her hands, her gaze vacant. She… seemed to have bent the young emperor while disguised as a man???
Downstairs, the young emperor Yi Han, dressed in soft armor, sat in a corner of the main hall, drinking wine with a blank expression. In front of him was nothing but a wine pot and a cup.
There were dark circles under his eyes, likely from a poor night's sleep. In fact, he hadn't slept at all.
He didn't want to think about what had happened last night, yet he couldn't stop himself from replaying it.
Yi Han raised his index finger and gently touched his lips. The soft sensation from last night seemed to linger. The feeling was too wonderful, making him want to savor it, to lose himself in it.
General Chi was clearly a man, so why were his lips so soft? Last night, Chi Luo had been too bewitching. Under the effects of the Joyous Powder, he had lost his usual solemnity. His cheeks were flushed, his eyes shimmered like water, and his handsome face was incredibly alluring. He was truly a beautiful man, rivaling Pan An in looks.
Yi Han had to admit that in that moment, his heart had truly been moved.
They embraced, nestled against each other, and kissed. Yi Han had been ready to confess his identity and give himself completely to this charming, gentle, and considerate man. But the moment after they kissed, Chi Luo's eyes suddenly closed, and he fell into a deep sleep. The flush on his cheeks faded.
Yi Han was terrified. Could it be that the great general had succumbed to the poison and died? But he was still breathing. Not daring to delay, Yi Han had rushed to call for an old physician. After taking his pulse, the physician clicked his tongue in amazement, saying the Joyous Powder toxin had completely vanished without a trace. Judging by Chi Luo's condition, it didn't look like he'd had someone cure him. The only explanation was that some people had naturally unique constitutions that could neutralize any poison.
The old physician left, leaving a disappointed Yi Han to sit by the bed, watching the soundly sleeping general.
He sat there all night. A sleepless night.
At the crack of dawn, to avoid any awkwardness, Yi Han went downstairs alone, ordered a pot of wine, and began to drink by himself.
By the time Chi Junluo had mentally prepared herself, washed up, and come downstairs, Yi Han already had two horses waiting outside the inn.
"Lincang, good morning." Chi Junluo brazenly greeted the young emperor, pretending nothing had happened.
Yi Han looked at the great general but saw nothing unusual in his expression. Had the general forgotten everything that happened last night?
But it didn't matter. After last night, Chi Luo was his, Yi Han's, person. Yi Han secretly made a resolution. He had to reclaim the throne as soon as possible, confess his identity to General Chi, and then marry the general into the palace. In this life, he, Yi Han, would only acknowledge General Chi Luo. Even if it meant defying the world, he would have him!
Yi Han nodded without a word, handed the reins to Chi Junluo, and mounted his own horse. Seeing Yi Han's silence, Chi Junluo couldn't help but feel a little guilty. She had been too reckless last night and had probably scared the young emperor. Or perhaps he hadn't yet recovered from the reality of being turned gay. Feeling the young emperor's gaze lingering on her, Chi Junluo straightened her posture, determined to keep her disguise secure.
The two of them left the city and, after meeting up with the Zhenbei Army soldiers, headed northwest.
After last night's commotion, the Fourth Prince and the Zhenbei Army had completely torn away all pretense of civility, as had he and Old General Chi. The incident had caused quite a stir and quickly spread throughout the Imperial City. It wouldn't be long before Old General Chi heard about it. The Fourth Prince had offended the two most powerful armies in Great Chang in one fell swoop—the loss was immense.
But the Fourth Prince wasn't afraid at all. He thought to himself that General Chi Luo had been afflicted with two different poisons. The onset of the toxins alone would be enough to torture him to death, not to mention the physical damage they would cause. It was more than enough to kill him.
After dismissing the banquet that night, the Fourth Prince had waited for a report from his several hundred cavalrymen.
However, he waited until dawn and still heard nothing. He had no choice but to send out another team to investigate. Before long, a soldier reported back: all several hundred cavalrymen sent out the previous night had been killed in action.
The Fourth Prince was consumed with rage. He violently threw his teacup to the ground, and it instantly shattered into pieces. At that moment, the Fourth Prince wished that the damned Yi Han and Chi Luo would be smashed to smithereens on the spot, just like that fragile cup!
After a three-day journey, Yi Han and Chi Junluo led the Zhenbei Army back to the Northwest Border. If not for Yi Han's concern for Chi Junluo's poisoned and possibly unrecovered body, they could have returned to camp in two days.
News that Chi Junluo was still alive would surely get out. There was no telling what that treacherous Fourth Prince would do to deal with the Zhenbei Army and the now-exposed young emperor, Yi Han.
Returning to the Zhenbei Army camp felt like coming home for Yi Han and Chi Junluo. It was inexplicably comfortable, inexplicably safe.
Unfortunately, Yi Han knew he couldn't hide here forever, relying on the great general's protection for the rest of his life.
He was unwilling to accept it. What belonged to him, he would seize back.
Yi Han rubbed the Imperial Jade Seal that he had carried with him everywhere, a restlessness stirring in his heart.
Over the next few days, Chi Junluo continued to teach Yi Han martial arts as usual, but something between them had inexplicably changed.
In the past two days, Vice General Wei Long had caught another spy.
The reason was that the night before last, when Vice General Wei Long got up to relieve himself, he saw a soldier acting furtively in the woods, tying something to a pigeon's leg. He captured both the man and the pigeon, dragged the man back to camp, and interrogated him all night. The soldier couldn't withstand it and confessed everything.
As expected, he was one who had slipped through the net during the last search. This spy belonged to the Fourth Prince and had been planted in the Zhenbei Army years ago. According to his confession, the recent treacherous banquet had happened because he had passed information about the Zhenbei Army camp to the Fourth Prince, leading to General Chi's long journey to attend.
That night, the spy had been trying to send news to the Fourth Prince that General Chi Luo was still alive. Fortunately, Wei Long discovered him and stopped him in time.
The next day, Vice General Wei Long reported the matter to the great general. Chi Junluo showed no mercy and had the spy publicly executed, beheading him.
In the afternoon, after training ended, the two went to an inn in Feng City to bathe. Upon returning to the general's tent, Chi Junluo formally began to discuss the matter of reclaiming the throne with Yi Han.
After all, Yi Han's identity was now exposed, and the Zhenbei Army had completely fallen out with the Fourth Prince. Heaven knew when the Fourth Prince would make his move. Rather than being passive and controlled, it was better to strike first and seize the initiative.
Chi Junluo shared her thoughts with Yi Han, who strongly agreed. To the north, the Northern Kingdom was watching them like a tiger eyeing its prey, and could launch a full-scale invasion at any time. After all, winter was approaching, and the people of the Northern Kingdom were getting restless.
Their thinking was aligned: they had to secure the interior before they could deal with external threats. By seizing the initiative and striking first at the Imperial City and the Fourth Prince, they would catch him off guard, increasing their chances of victory.
A wild, excited light danced in the young emperor Yi Han's eyes. He wished he could don his armor right now, lead the hundreds of thousands of Zhenbei Army soldiers alongside the great general, and charge back to the Imperial City to slaughter the damned Fourth Prince, leaving no one alive. If they could capture him alive, that would be even better. He wanted to brutally torture that ambitious wolf, to tear the man who dared to harm General Chi Luo limb from limb.
He could no longer wait.
Having reached an agreement, they began intensive preparations over the next few days, gathering provisions for the march. They would take the majority of the Zhenbei Army, leaving only a portion behind to defend Feng City and a few other cities.
Once they made the decision, Chi Junluo summoned Vice General Wei Long and passed down the orders layer by layer. The entire Zhenbei Army began to prepare with great urgency.
A great war seemed imminent.
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