Liu Zhenqing had just gone out and was looking around. He quickly recalled the topography of the island from his memory, following it to a place with few people and no firelight.

But not far away, there was suddenly the boom of artillery. 

Liu Zhenqing’s hope instantly ignited. It was Song Xingmu and the others. He calculated the time, and it was earlier than expected. Liu Zhenqing couldn’t manage much anymore, and staggered toward the place where war was breaking out.

There was noise around from time to time, and the sounds of people running. Liu Zhenqing had to carefully avoid the crowds and try his best to reach the shore, but as he walked, his vision blurred and his body began to shake continuously. With no strength remaining, Liu Zhenqing could only hide behind a tree, breathing hard. His left hand was numb from being pierced, and he was about to switch to his right hand when there were sudden footsteps in the grass.

A figure covered in blood rushed out, and he suddenly saw Liu Zhenqing sitting there. He was actually one of his captors from the ship.

“You’re trying to run away!” The man was furious. “Did you draw them here?!”

Liu Zhenqing no longer had the strength to flee, so he could only say: “I don’t know. I came out to find your boss.”

But at this juncture, the man had no rationality to speak of and naturally would not listen to the other’s deception. He only heard the man say angrily: “Laozi will take your head and send it to Song Xingmu!”

As he spoke, the blade in his hand was about to fall.

Liu Zhenqing’s pupils shrank. There was nothing he could do. In the past, it was difficult for Liu Zhenqing to panic when encountering danger, not only due to habit, but also because he felt that dying would not be a big deal.

But now, in this life, he panicked. He really didn’t want to die, ah.

Holding tight to the scroll, he blocked in front of himself.

His mouth instinctively called for help.

“Er-gou! Save me!”

Although he didn’t understand what Liu Zhenqing shouted, it made the person pause for a moment.

At this moment, a whistling sound could be heard in the forest.

A cold black shadow shuttled through like a sharp arrow. Before the man could react, a flying sword penetrated his head with such force that it pinned him directly to the trunk of the tree.

Liu Zhenqing saw clearly that it was the Chunjun Sword.

He was really about to cry with joy. Even though he couldn’t see clearly, he reflexively opened his arms. “Er-gou!”

The moment he shouted, a figure descended and a solid form picked him up, holding him tightly in his arms.

The force of the hug seemed to crush Liu Zhenqing.

“Qing-ge…..”

The hoarse voice sounded, and Liu Zhenqing was no longer flustered.

Liu Zhenqing hugged the person who had arrived tightly, nuzzled him, and called out almost coquettishly: “What are you doing here, ah. You almost missed seeing me.”

Huo Fenglie trembled all over. He held him tighter, and his voice almost began to shake. “Sorry, I’m late. I should…..should have guarded you every step of the way. I’m sorry, Qing-ge.”

Huo Fenglie slowly raised his eyes as he spoke. The dark red in them was like the deep sea. He was on the verge of losing control, but suppressed it with his internal force. This situation had begun when he learned from Yi Chuan that Liu Zhenqing had been kidnapped. Because he couldn’t afford to lose control, he did his utmost to suppress it.

Even now, holding Liu Zhenqing tightly could not relieve his pain.

Liu Zhenqing was unaware, and had no idea how dangerous Huo Fenglie currently was. He only tried to calm his emotions. Patting Huo Fenglie, he spoke again: “I’m fine, I’m fine. I haven’t encountered any danger, it’s just…..just that they drugged me, and now I’m…..”

Holding him so tightly, Liu Zhenqing believed that Huo Fenglie must feel it.

A cannon abruptly sounded nearby, and the shock cut off Liu Zhenqing’s words. In the next second, Huo Fenglie picked him up.

The fleet that followed Huo Fenlgie ashore had already begun to attack the island. Qin Yu and He Lan had gone to arrest the rebel leader. Song Xingmu stood on the bow of a ship and looked into the distance, taking control of the situation. Very soon, he saw Huo Fenglie leap over with Liu Zhenqing in his arms.

Song Xingmu was shocked. Even though he had seen Huo Fenglie before, now Liu Zhenqing was with him.

Before Song Xingmu could ask, he noticed the strange appearance of Liu Zhenqing in Huo Fenglie’s arms.

“This…..”

Liu Zhenqing said through gritted teeth: “Zhao Haicheng and his men are all on the island, and at least half the people there are rebels rather than islanders. I was kidnapped.”

Huo Fenglie also said: “Fifty thousand troops have also arrived in Ming’an Prefecture. The leader of the army was once my subordinate, and is trustworthy. They have been sent out to surround the area where the navy is located, and are waiting in hiding for us to return and make arrangements.”

Huo Fenglie had arranged everything so that he didn’t have to worry when going back for Liu Zhenqing.

Song Xingmu looked in astonishment at the two people who reported everything calmly in the face of such a situation. “Um, you……”

“Zhao Haicheng’s men drugged me.”

Song Xingmu was stunned. “Zhao Haicheng wanted you. Have you been…..”

He choked up mid-sentence. He saw that Liu Zhenqing’s collar had been ripped and became furious.

“No! Although I couldn’t fight him, I could still deceive him to stall for time. The effect of this drug will not cause someone to lose their mind.” Liu Zhenqing spoke quickly, not wanting Huo Fenglie to misunderstand. “I was not taken advantage of at all!”

Song Xingmu coughed. “It’s thanks to your strong willpower.” As he spoke, he also looked at Huo Fenglie. Inexplicably, he seemed to see that Huo Fenglie’s eyes…..were a little red.

Huo Fenglie asked at once: “He didn’t bring any antidote pills. Where are yours?”

Liu Zhenqing had given Song Xingmu a bottle and hadn’t taken it back.

Song Xingmu stared blankly at Huo Fenglie. Now…..it seemed that Huo Fenglie was no longer needed…..

He looked again at Liu Zhenqing, who was curled up in Huo Fenglie’s arms. Sure enough, Liu Zhenqing glanced over, and with this one look, his brother understood.

“I didn’t bring it with me either. I gave it to Yi Chuan. Is the drug deadly?” Song Xingmu said with a worried face, “But we can’t leave immediately, we have to arrest those people.”

Huo Fenglie froze, and Liu Zhenqing whispered: “I won’t die. Er-gou, carry me to a room.”

He lowered his head and responded in a low voice, then turned and walked into the cabin.

Song Xingmu looked back, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. “Brother, I can only help you so far!”

It was practically pitch-black inside the cabin, and even though a candle was lit, the light was dim.

Liu Zhenqing was placed on the bed, and he immediately curled up in discomfort. He pulled his clothes off in front of Huo Fenglie without any scruples. It was too hot.

“Qing-ge, your hand…..” Huo Fenglie quickly grabbed his bleeding left hand.

However, Liu Zhenqing pulled Huo Fenglie onto the bed, hugging him and rubbing against him.

Huo Fenglie’s expression changed drastically, and the restless crimson in his eyes suddenly seemed to waver.

“Qing…..”

Before he could say a word, his mouth was blocked by Liu Zhenqing’s kiss.

This time, Liu Zhenqing was not going to let Huo Fenglie go, but the other raised his hands to push him away.

Liu Zhenqing looked at him with blank eyes, a hint of concealed anger on his face.

“Qing-ge, you’re not in your right mind now. Don’t do this…..”

Liu Zhenqing could clearly hear the instability in Huo Fenglie’s voice: “Er-gou…..I’m uncomfortable.”

He had to use gentleness to overcome strength. As expected, as soon as he said this, the strength in Huo Fenglie’s hands relaxed a bit.

Liu Zhenqing seized the opportunity to take advantage.

But in the next second, a familiar cold breeze hit.

Liu Zhenqing said quickly: “If you knock me out, you’re finished!”

Huo Fenglie’s raised hand froze. “Qing-ge…..”

Raising his head, Liu Zhenqing gave him a furious glare. This stupid dog!

But soon after, there were no superfluous emotions in Liu Zhenqing’s eyes. After all, this was Huo Fenglie, his Er-gou. The initial properties of the drug amplified almost tenfold when he was in front of this person.

Liu Zhenqing was in no mood to endure it any longer, so he grabbed Huo Fenglie’s hand and pulled it down…..

Huo Fenglie’s pupils shrank, and the red in his eyes turned into a storm.

Liu Zhenqing’s almost ethereal voice came to his ears: “Er-gou, help me.”

. . . . . . .

When Liu Zhenqing awoke, he was alone in the cabin. It was dark outside, and the ship was sailing quickly.

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his head to look. He saw clean underwear and sheets, a bandaged hand, and hot tea and food on the table next to him.

He tried to stand up, but his legs were extremely weak. He didn’t know how many rounds they went last night, but he was exhausted. His memory was actually a bit fuzzy due to the effects of the drug, but he still remembered the key points. Especially now that he recalled it over and over again, he wanted to engrave those beautiful moments deep into his memory.

He remembered that after finally easing the effects of the drug, they could have stopped there.

However, Liu Zhenqing was greedy, and did not let Er-gou stop. He pretended like the drug still had some potency, and tried to help Er-gou.

But this movement seemed to instantly wake Huo Fenglie up. The restraint he had lost was immediately restored, and he moved his body wordlessly, not allowing Liu Zhenqing to touch him.

Thinking about it now, Liu Zhenqing was really disappointed. What did it mean that he would rather endure discomfort rather than let him touch him? However, Liu Zhenqing definitely couldn’t mull it over carefully at the time, and in the end, he accepted the unilateral help.

Although it was not perfect, it was an authentic first contact. Liu Zhenqing was so happy that he almost started to regret not enjoying this treatment earlier, and that he had been a man for so many years in vain.

Huo Fenglie, on the other hand, endured it all night with no fear of damaging his body.

Liu Zhenqing griped in dissatisfaction while getting dressed, then went out with difficulty.

As soon as he went out, he saw several people conversing on the deck.

As soon as they heard movement, the group looked over. Liu Zhenqing just looked straight at Huo Fenglie. There was a reflexive sweetness in his heart, and he called out softly: “Fenglie.”

This sound was just like the night before when everything started. At first it was simply lending a hand, but then he called for him. Huo Fenglie had lowered his head. Liu Zhenqing caught him. This time, the kiss was more than a simple kiss. Even though he was unskilled, it caused Huo Fenglie’s complete suppression of himself to fail. He fought back like a provoked wolfhound. Liu Zhenqing almost couldn’t take a breath.

Now that he thought about it, Er-gou was rather talented.

Oh, right. It seemed like this was not his first lover.

Damn, he was so jealous, ah. Who was so lucky, ah? Er-gou was so good at kissing.

As he thought, Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help but purse his lips.

Huo Fenglie looked at him first, and when he saw Liu Zhenqing purse his lips, his cheeks turned red. His eyes were averted, but he approached in a well-behaved manner and quickly found a cloak to put on Liu Zhenqing.

“The wind is cold at sea,” Huo Fenglie whispered.

Liu Zhenqing didn’t care that there were three people watching the show next to him. He just looked sideways at the one who got him the cloak, looked at the marks on his neck, and asked while feigning ignorance: “Did I do all that on your neck? Was I so cruel?”

Two sentences made Song Xingmu and He Lan let out their breath in a puff, and they gave him a thumbs up. The corners of Qin Yu’s lips twitched too as he tried to keep a hold of himself.

The pitiful Huo Fenglie froze. As if he didn’t dare pretend not to have heard, he just gave a low hum.

However, Liu Zhenqing drew closer and said: “I’m really sorry. I thought I would be the best at making love, but I didn’t expect that I would bite someone.”

In fact, it was after a certain person refused to touch or kiss him last night that he just buried his head in his neck to evade, telling him not to raise his head again. That just forced him to bite him.

Huo Fenglie seemed to remember this, and his expression froze. In the end, he couldn’t say a word.

Watching the excitement, Song Xingmu said: “Did the two of you spend last night in conjugal bliss? Should I wait for the wedding wine?”

Without waiting for Liu Zhenqing’s reply, Huo Fenglie said directly: “No, don’t talk nonsense.”

Song Xingmu choked and looked at Liu Zhenqing in disbelief. Nothing had happened?

Huo Fenglie turned to find Liu Zhenqing narrowing his eyes at him with an unhappy expression. He was momentarily at a loss.

Liu Zhenqing said directly, “Yes, ah. We’re all men here, and we don’t have to take responsibility if we touch. Right, General Huo?”

Not to mention the other two, even Yi Chuan started to cough.

A chill ran down Huo Fenglie’s spine, and he looked at Liu Zhenqing with childlike, panicked eyes.

Liu Zhenqing stopped paying attention to him and stepped forward to ask: “How is it going?”

When it came to business, he would naturally stop playing around.

Song Xingmu said with a frown: “We’re rushing back now.”

“That person wasn’t caught?”

“More than a hundred people died and more than three hundred were arrested, but Zhao Haicheng wasn’t there,” Song Xingmu said.

“The rebel leaders we know of weren’t there either. The moment we landed on the island, they gave up resisting and abandoned the island, leaving most of them behind to delay us.” He Lan said: “The weapons and black powder are gone. It’s clear they had planned to give up that place long ago, it’s just that our arrival caused them to act in advance. That’s why they were able to respond so quickly.”

“It stands to reason that we should return to shore and join the other thirty thousand navy troops,” Qin Yu said.

“So now we need to dock elsewhere to join the 50,000 strong army.” Song Xingmu looked at Huo Fenglie.

Liu Zhenqing also took the time to tell them everything he had learned.

Because they were sailing so fast, they could already see the coastline as they spoke.

While the others were busy, Liu Zhenqing had his head bowed, deep in thought. He felt that there was some hidden problem, and he was uneasy.

Suddenly, a figure blocked the rising sun.

Liu Zhenqing looked up to see Huo Fenglie’s face, full of suppressed uneasiness. “Qing-ge, will you come with me?”

Liu Zhenqing raised an eyebrow and said: “I won’t.”

Huo Fenglie panicked. “Qing-ge, are you…..are you angry with me?”

“Yo, you’ve noticed. Then can you guess what I’m angry about?”

Huo Fenglie’s expression froze. “Because when you were out of control…..I touched you.”

Liu Zhenqing instantly pulled Huo Fenglie’s ear in fury. “I asked for your help. I remember this.”

Huo Fenglie regarded him with an extremely confused expression, dumbfounding Liu Zhenqing.

“Okay, Huo Fenglie, don’t take him with you. His safety is guaranteed this time.” Song Xingmu came over at this moment and said: “Yi Chuan will also go back with him and stay behind the fifty-thousand-strong army. If someone wants to get close to him, they’ll have to get through all of us, so it will be very safe. His body is weak now, is it reasonable for you to drag him around with you?”

It was indeed unreasonable, but Huo Fenglie was very frightened and wished he could carry Liu Zhenqing around with him.

Liu Zhenqing patted Huo Fenglie and said: “Business first. I will wait for you to return in triumph.” As he spoke, he leaned in toward Huo Fenglie’s ear. “Er-gou, this is a problem left over from Qing-ge’s past. I can’t solve it, so it’s up to you.”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes flashed. He gave Liu Zhenqing a resolute look and said: “En, leave all of your problems to me.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled. Yes, ah, just leave it to Er-gou. There is no need to bear it alone.

After watching the army leave, He Lan and Qin Yu also took action alone. Liu Zhenqing and Yi Chuan remained in the command tent.

Liu Zhenqing apologized to Yi Chuan with a smile. The corners of Yi Chuan’s mouth twitched. “I didn’t protect you well. If I’m useless the next time something like that happens, just stab me to death.”

Liu Zhenqing regarded the restless Yi Chuan with a smile and said: “Want to go out?”

“En.” Yi Chuan looked down at the map on the desk and said, “I feel so uneasy……”

Liu Zhenqing also looked at the map. He smiled: “As long as they’re here, nothing will…..”

His expression suddenly changed. Looking at the map in front of him, he suddenly recalled the map in Zhao Haicheng’s room.

The black powder was gone. Those people had long intended to leave the island. Zhao Haicheng said they would be buried in a sea of fire.

The governor was also warned to move out, and the location of the governor’s manor was…..

A terrible suspicion gradually formed in Liu Zhenqing’s mind, and he suddenly gave a shout: “This is bad!”

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Chapter Ninety-Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter Ninety-Four