Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Xie Licheng, seeing Gu Zhangyuan agree, had him sit facing him, right in his lap.

Gu Zhangyuan found this position really strange and shyly tried to squeeze his legs together. But unexpectedly, Xie Licheng, instead of letting him have his way, mischievously spread them apart for him again.

Gu Zhangyuan reached out to scratch him, and seeing this, Xie Licheng quickly leaned in and kissed him.

At first, it was a gentle press, and once Gu Zhangyuan was pleased, he began slowly conquering ground.

Then, when the kiss got too intense, Gu Zhangyuan would get angry and reach out to scratch him again.

At such times, Xie Licheng would stop and look at him, figuring out whether he was truly upset or just being coy.

If truly upset, he would temporarily stop kissing.

If he was just being coy, it meant he could go harder.

Xie Licheng hadn't understood these things before; it was only as he got to know Gu Zhangyuan better that he came to understand some of his little cues.

Watching his clothes fall to the ground one by one, Gu Zhangyuan felt a moment of fear, but he looked seriously at the person before him.

This wasn't a stranger—it was the man he loved, his lawful husband.

The fear in Gu Zhangyuan's heart slowly gave way to a stronger, more excited emotion.

He thought, it's fine, they're husbands, there was nothing wrong with what they were doing.

Besides, he wanted to have a child—how else could he get pregnant without doing this?

With that thought, Gu Zhangyuan got bolder and directly began untying Xie Licheng's clothes himself.

The two of them fooled around once in the farm pavilion, and after returning, they had another round in their bedroom.

Gu Zhangyuan couldn't take it anymore and eventually passed out.

As for how he was bathed or carried back, he knew nothing of these things.

He slept until the next morning, only waking up around noon.

When he woke, his whole body ached, and his lower belly was throbbing slightly.

He let out a pained moan, and Xie Licheng, who had been watching over him, quickly leaned in and asked, "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

Gu Zhangyuan was still groggy. He blinked his big, pretty eyes and said absentmindedly to Xie Licheng, "My body hurts, husband. Did I get hurt?"

Hearing this, Xie Licheng picked him up, undid his clothes, and checked him over again.

He'd checked when bathing him last night—the worst spots were just a little red.

Seeing him so uncomfortable now, Xie Licheng had no choice but to give him a thorough check in the daylight.

He looked him over from head to toe, inside and out.

Xie Licheng asked, "Where exactly does it hurt?"

Gu Zhangyuan pointed at his chest, then at him...

Xie Licheng, remembering what the wet nurse had told him last night, pulled him into his arms and gently rubbed the spot.

Still groggy, Gu Zhangyuan was slow to react, and only after Xie Licheng had rubbed a few times did he shyly squirm in his arms.

Gu Zhangyuan protested shyly, "No, you can't do that."

Xie Licheng was both exasperated and amused. "Why not? When we were together, I even..."

"Don't say that!"

Seeing Gu Zhangyuan's eyes getting red, worried he might actually cry out of anger, Xie Licheng quickly raised both hands to show he was backing off.

Xie Licheng: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything, and I won't touch you."

Gu Zhangyuan grabbed a piece of clothing to wrap around himself, then said to Xie Licheng with a look of disbelief, "You've never treated me like this before."

Could it be that because he'd been so passionate yesterday, he'd given Xie Licheng the wrong idea?

Xie Licheng explained, "Last night when I was bathing you, the wet nurse gave me a book of erotic pictures. She also said... that a boy's body is different from a grown man's, and taught me some ways to take care of a boy."

Normally, the wet nurse wouldn't have been able to teach Xie Licheng about such things.

But yesterday, when Xie Licheng and Gu Zhangyuan had been fooling around and the wet nurse saw Gu Zhangyuan faint, she worried that the two young men were being too reckless and might harm Gu Zhangyuan's body.

So while Xie Licheng and the wet nurse were caring for Gu Zhangyuan together, she shamelessly offered some advice.

Hearing that the wet nurse had taught him those things to take care of him, Gu Zhangyuan felt both embarrassed and shocked.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "The wet nurse is really something else. I'm not a child anymore—how could she teach you all this?"

Seeing that he was no longer angry, Xie Licheng pulled out the book of erotic pictures.

He opened to a page and, with a serious, studious look, asked, "It says here that if a boy gets pregnant, because of the pregnancy, he'll really want to be intimate with his husband. During this time—the first three months and the last three months—they can't have sex. If the boy is really suffering, then the husband needs to..."

Before Xie Licheng could finish, Gu Zhangyuan tossed the book aside.

"Don't read that, and don't study it. I'll figure it out myself—you don't need to know all that."

Xie Licheng ignored the book and asked curiously, "If you get pregnant and want to be intimate with me, what should I do then?"

Should he refuse firmly, or take care of him some other way like the book said? He needed Gu Zhangyuan to give him a straight answer so he'd know what to do.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't want to answer that, because he didn't know how he'd feel then.

So he blinked and looked at Xie Licheng, saying, "I don't know either. Let's talk about it then. I'm afraid that even if I say something now, I might change my mind later."

Xie Licheng nodded and got up to find Gu Zhangyuan a new set of clothes.

Seeing that the clothes he brought were a practical, fitted outfit, Gu Zhangyuan asked, curious, "Why are you having me wear something like this?"

Xie Licheng: "I'm taking you to the mountains for a couple of days."

Hearing that he was being taken out to play, Gu Zhangyuan immediately brightened up.

Gu Zhangyuan sat up and said, "What about your workshop, then?"

Xie Licheng: "It'll be fine—when we get back, I'll hire some people to do the work."

But thinking about how clingy Gu Zhangyuan had been yesterday, Xie Licheng decided to take him to the mountains for a couple of days.

Once Gu Zhangyuan was dressed, Xie Licheng also got everything ready for the trip.

Clothes, shoes, socks, food, drinks, lighting gear, tents—stuff like that. Xie Licheng's backpack had tons of pockets, so they could pack a whole lot of stuff.

The two of them headed out in the morning, and to save Gu Zhangyuan's energy, Xie Licheng carried him on his back as they went up the mountain.

Normally, in a situation like this, Xie Licheng would have gone up the mountain first, and Gu Zhangyuan would have teleported over.

But the young couple was feeling all clingy right now, wanting to stay all cuddled up together.

As they walked, Xie Licheng asked, "Is your stomach still bothering you?"

Gu Zhangyuan shook his head from where he lay on Xie Licheng's back. "It's not uncomfortable anymore. It didn't hurt before either, just felt a little achy."

Probably because they'd been too wild last night, his body couldn't quite take it.

Xie Licheng carried him on his back for a while, then switched to carrying him in his arms.

Going up the mountain was usually a pain and pretty dangerous, but for Xie Licheng, even with someone in his arms, it was a breeze.

Once they got deeper into the mountains, Gu Zhangyuan got down and walked a bit on his own. His legs were still a bit shaky, and before long, he had Xie Licheng pick him up again.

This time, it wasn't Gu Zhangyuan being fussy; it was Xie Licheng's lack of restraint the night before that was to blame. Otherwise, Gu Zhangyuan wouldn't still be feeling off.

Xie Licheng carried him a bit further and spotted a wild pheasant up ahead.

He set Gu Zhangyuan down, pulled out a crossbow, and started teaching him how to shoot.

Xie Licheng said softly, "Come on, use this to take down that bird."

Gu Zhangyuan had used a crossbow before, and with Xie Licheng guiding him, he let an arrow fly.

The shot was a little off, but Xie Licheng didn't scold him. Instead, he just guided him to keep aiming at the target.

Their main reason for coming up the mountain this time was just to have fun, so Xie Licheng wasn't too picky about his aim.

Still... Gu Zhangyuan actually had some talent. After a few more tries, he slowly started to get the hang of it.

Once he managed to bag a rabbit and a pheasant with the crossbow, Xie Licheng handed him a gun.

Xie Licheng said, "Try this instead. I'll show you how to use it."

With that, Xie Licheng wrapped his arms around Gu Zhangyuan and showed him how to handle the gun.

A gun is also called "truth"—the ultimate argument. With a weapon like that in hand, even a delicate young man like Gu Zhangyuan could easily take down a big, burly guy.

The first time he fired the gun, Gu Zhangyuan got startled.

He leaned into Xie Licheng's chest and muttered quietly.

"This thing... why is it so scary?"

Xie Licheng chuckled. "Once you get used to it and use it more, it won't be scary anymore."

Gu Zhangyuan tried it a couple more times but still thought the gun was terrifying.

He pouted at Xie Licheng, "I don't want to use it anymore. I don't want to keep practicing."

Xie Licheng didn't push him. "Alright, we'll practice again next time we get the chance."

With that, he stashed the gun back in his backpack and was about to lead Gu Zhangyuan deeper into the mountains.

Just then, the two ran into a majestic big cat.

The big cat was a tiger, also known as the "lord of the mountain."

This was Gu Zhangyuan's first time seeing a real tiger, and at first, he didn't realize how dangerous it was.

He pointed at the tiger and said, "Husband, that... is that a tiger?"

Xie Licheng had already spotted it. He hadn't warned Gu Zhangyuan because he was afraid he'd panic.

Seeing that Gu Zhangyuan seemed fine and not too scared, Xie Licheng lifted him up into a tree.

Xie Licheng said, "Stay up there for now. I'll handle it real quick."

Gu Zhangyuan sat on a branch, and only then did the fear hit him belatedly.

He hugged the trunk, watching the tiger slowly approaching them from not far away.

He said, "Husband, be careful."

Gu Zhangyuan hadn't felt scared earlier because he was in Xie Licheng's arms. Now that he was separated from him, the fear crept in.

Gu Zhangyuan realized that Xie Licheng was his courage.

Without Xie Licheng, he reverted to being the timid person he was.

Xie Licheng raised his hand in acknowledgment, then walked toward the big tiger.

And then Gu Zhangyuan witnessed with his own eyes Xie Licheng killing a tiger with his bare hands.

To be honest, that scene was a bit bloody and terrifying.

But thinking that the man was his, he couldn't truly be afraid of him.

After killing the tiger, Xie Licheng used the system to break it down. Then he wiped the blood off his hands and returned to the tree to help Gu Zhangyuan down.

Gu Zhangyuan noticed the blood on him and said shyly, "You have blood on you. Don't get it on me."

Xie Licheng: "There's a stream up ahead. I'll take a bath when we get there."

Gu Zhangyuan nodded, then couldn't help but worry, "The weather isn't like summer anymore. Won't you catch a cold bathing in the mountains?"

Xie Licheng took his hand and walked forward slowly, replying calmly.

"No, I won't. My body is strong."