Chapter 80

Chapter 80

While Xie Licheng was bathing in the stream, Gu Zhangyuan sat nearby talking with him.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "By the way, during the three days you were away, Chen Yaosan came looking for you."

Xie Licheng acknowledged with a hum, signaling him to continue.

Gu Zhangyuan: "He learned from Master Cao about the whereabouts of the boy from Cui Niang's family."

Xie Licheng: "Where?"

"A place called Quancheng. He sold the child to a family surnamed Feng."

Since buying kids isn't exactly something to be proud of, most buyers don't leave their real names. Master Cao only knew they were from the Quancheng area.

Xie Licheng nodded at that. "Got it. Next time I go out, I'll make a trip to Quancheng."

Whether or not he could find the child, it wouldn't hurt to go check it out. Fortunately, Quancheng wasn't far from Wencheng, and they might even save more people on the way.

After saying this, Xie Licheng quickly dried himself off and prepared to put his clothes back on.

Gu Zhangyuan watched him with a smile, then blushed and stepped over to help him get dressed.

Xie Licheng wasn't the same man he'd been at the start. Back then, he'd been so skinny he looked like a skeleton.

Now Xie Licheng had not only gained weight, but had become incredibly strong.

His chest, abs, and arm muscles looked damn good and tempting.

Gu Zhangyuan figured the current Xie Licheng could easily haul three or four of him at once.

Xie Licheng didn't overdo his workouts, so his muscles weren't the scary, over-the-top kind.

The reason he was so solid and ripped now was mainly because he stayed busy every day. Whether it was killing, saving, or farming and stuff. And when he did get a break back at the farm, he'd carry his wife around.

Gu Zhangyuan reached over to help him get dressed, but before his clothes were even on right, Gu Zhangyuan had picked Xie Licheng up.

Gu Zhangyuan said quietly, "What are you doing?"

Xie Licheng leaned in and whispered something filthy in his ear. Hearing that, Gu Zhangyuan got annoyed and pinched his ear.

Gu Zhangyuan snapped, "Are you an asshole? What you said is so annoying."

Xie Licheng asked him, "So, are you gonna give it to me?"

Gu Zhangyuan quickly said, "No way, it's broad daylight, and we're out in the mountains."

As he said that, his eyes darted around nervously, scared someone might pop out of the woods.

Xie Licheng carried him further into the mountains, walking as he spoke. "Only Chen Yaosan would dare come into these mountains, and with all the village stuff going on, he doesn't have time for that. Besides, this mountain's huge—what are the odds we'd run into anyone? Don't you want to have a kid with me? We can do it right here in the mountains."

Gu Zhangyuan, seeing how serious he was, thought he really meant to do it out here, and instantly got flustered.

Gu Zhangyuan squirmed and said, "No, no, I can't let you keep messing around like this."

Xie Licheng saw he was genuinely freaking out, so he stopped teasing him.

Xie Licheng said, "Don't worry, I'm just messing with you."

Once he confirmed Xie Licheng was just messing with him, Gu Zhangyuan couldn't help but get a little pissed again.

He pinched Xie Licheng's ear hard, then bit his cheek until teeth marks showed, before he huffily forgave him for the moment.

Then Gu Zhangyuan wanted to pick some wildflowers, so Xie Licheng put him down.

While Gu Zhangyuan picked wildflowers, Xie Licheng got dressed and caught a gorgeous venomous snake.

Grabbing the snake by the head, he asked, "Wanna touch it?"

Gu Zhangyuan took one look and immediately shook his head.

"No, snakes are scary as hell."

Xie Licheng knew he was scared of snakes, so he didn't push it.

He butchered the snake and stashed it in his backpack.

He asked, "You hungry? It's already past noon."

Hearing that, Gu Zhangyuan suddenly remembered they hadn't had lunch yet.

"Yeah, let's eat something, or we won't have any energy later."

Xie Licheng pulled out a piece of bread and a roasted chicken that looked amazing from his backpack.

The bread was from their past life, and Gu Zhangyuan loved those soft, fluffy things with filling.

He ate the whole bread and a chicken leg, and was stuffed.

Xie Licheng polished off the rest of the chicken himself.

Xie Licheng also pulled out a can of beer. He'd barely taken a sip when Gu Zhangyuan leaned in.

Xie Licheng held the can up so Gu Zhangyuan could have a taste.

Gu Zhangyuan took just one sip and then didn't want any more.

Xie Licheng asked, "What do you wanna drink?"

He'd brought a few drinks for him but didn't know which one he'd want.

Gu Zhangyuan asked, "What did you bring?"

"A bottle of cola, a bottle of red wine, two cups of water, a cup of brown sugar water, and a bowl of sweet soup."

Gu Zhangyuan nodded. "I'll take the cola."

He'd had cola before—it was great ice-cold in the summer.

But Xie Licheng thought drinking too much of that stuff wasn't good, so he didn't let him have it often.

Xie Licheng pulled out the cola and twisted the cap off for him.

Since it was a bit chilly in the mountains, Gu Zhangyuan only took a few sips before he was done.

Xie Licheng put the cola away, and just as he was about to finish his beer, Gu Zhangyuan suddenly leaned over his lap and kissed him.

Gu Zhangyuan kissed Xie Licheng's cheek, then pressed his lips to Xie Licheng's.

After they kissed, Gu Zhangyuan grinned, his eyes crinkling. "You smell so good."

Xie Licheng didn't actually smell good at all. That "you smell so good" line from Gu Zhangyuan was something Xie Licheng used to say to him all the time.

Today, he suddenly felt like saying it himself, and once he said it, he found it pretty satisfying.

Thinking about how Xie Licheng used to say that, then kiss and grope him all over,

now he'd finally gotten even.

Xie Licheng wasn't bothered by his wife's teasing. He tilted his head back, chugged the beer, and then yanked Gu Zhangyuan into his arms.

Gu Zhangyuan was startled and about to speak, but then his soft lips were captured in a kiss.

Xie Licheng wrapped one arm around his waist and used the other to cradle the back of his head.

He pulled him into a long, deep French kiss, almost leaving his lovely wife breathless.

It took Gu Zhangyuan a while to come back to his senses.

That's when he realized Xie Licheng had already started moving again, carrying him.

He rested his head on Xie Licheng's shoulder and lightly touched his lips. They were a little sore.

This man never let himself lose. Tease him once, and he'd grab the chance to bully him relentlessly.

Later, when Gu Zhangyuan started getting sleepy, Xie Licheng found a tree for them to rest under.

Xie Licheng had brought a sleeping bag that was moisture-proof and bug-proof, perfect for sleeping in.

He tucked Gu Zhangyuan into it and built a campfire nearby.

Just as Gu Zhangyuan was drifting off, he asked, "Are we really spending the night in the mountains?"

Xie Licheng nodded. "Yeah, you've never slept outside before. Tonight, I'll let you really experience it."

Gu Zhangyuan wanted to say, "You're not planning to sleep with me out here, are you?"

But he was too tired, and before he could get the words out, he was asleep.

He slept all the way until nightfall.

When he woke up, Xie Licheng had already cooked two fish over the fire.

The fish had been caught and grilled fresh. Seeing he was finally awake, Xie Licheng handed him the bigger one.

Gu Zhangyuan stared at the grilled fish and took it after a long pause.

He took a bite from the meatiest part and then said quietly to the man next to him, "I can't eat all of this."

Xie Licheng said, "Leave the rest to me. Just eat what you like."

Gu Zhangyuan smiled and started eating slowly, very gracefully.

His stomach was sensitive, so he didn't dare eat too much. He picked at it and took a few bites.

Seeing he'd stopped eating, Xie Licheng pulled a bowl of sweet soup out of his backpack.

Gu Zhangyuan really liked that, so he took the bowl and drank most of it.

He handed the rest to Xie Licheng.

Xie Licheng didn't mind and downed it in one gulp.

Originally, Xie Licheng had planned to spend two or three days in the mountains with him.

But Gu Zhangyuan was delicate, and he was also afraid Xie Licheng might try something out in the wild, so he hugged Xie Licheng and acted all cute, saying he wanted to go home.

Actually, he wasn't just afraid Xie Licheng would want him; he was also scared he couldn't resist temptation himself.

Lately, he didn't know why, but maybe because he wanted a child, he'd gotten a little addicted to being intimate with Xie Licheng.

Especially when Xie Licheng kissed him, he wanted to wrap himself around him and never let go.

Gu Zhangyuan felt this couldn't go on; as a young man, he needed to show some restraint.

In the end, the two went back to the farm from the mountains. Since Gu Zhangyuan was too tired, they didn't do anything.

The next morning, Xie Licheng went to the workshop to hire some workers.

He first hired a group to slice sweet potatoes. Since sweet potato noodles needed cold weather to make, he didn't rush to hire anyone for that.

Sweet potato slices didn't take much skill. Xie Licheng hired the workers in the morning, showed them how to do it in the afternoon, and everyone caught on quickly.

Xie Licheng didn't watch over them and just told them to head back when it got dark.

For pay, the workers could choose to take sweet potatoes or silver.

When it came time to settle up, they could tell Xie Licheng what they preferred.

Xie Licheng planned to slice 2,000 jin of sweet potatoes, which would take about three days.

After hiring the workers, Xie Licheng returned from the workshop.

He remembered Gu Zhangyuan wanted him to keep him company more.

So as soon as he got back, he found Gu Zhangyuan taking care of the flowers and plants.

Seeing him return, Gu Zhangyuan put down his small watering can.

He said, "Husband, can you make me a little garden in that spot over there sometime?"

To make sure Xie Licheng knew where, he took him by the hand and led him to the spot he had in mind.

The spot Gu Zhangyuan chose was at the entrance to the farm.

There was an open area there where a small garden could be made.

Xie Licheng walked around the place and then asked, "What flowers do you like?"

Gu Zhangyuan asked, "What flowers can you get?"

Xie Licheng thought for a moment. "Chrysanthemums, magnolias, crabapple, peonies, herbaceous peonies, plum blossoms?"

If he couldn't buy them from the player's shop, he could also find a way to get them from elsewhere.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "Peonies? I've always wanted to grow peonies, but the climate in Lingzhou isn't suitable."

Xie Licheng nodded, noting Gu Zhangyuan's request.

Afterwards, the two returned together to Xiyuan (the estate), and Gu Zhangyuan asked about the workshop.

"So, did you manage to hire enough workers?"

"Yeah, enough."

"That's good. I was a little worried that with the Gu family hiring so many farmhands, the village might run out of people to hire."

Indeed, the Gu family had hired quite a number of people, all taken to the county town, which left the village feeling noticeably emptier.

Xie Licheng said, "There won't be a shortage of people here. I'll head out later and round up some more."

When it was time to turn in for the night, Xie Licheng got ready to hold Gu Zhangyuan and work on making a baby.

But unexpectedly, Xie Licheng, with his strength, accidentally ripped Gu Zhangyuan's undergarment, and Gu Zhangyuan got huffy and threw a little fit over it.

Luckily, his handsome husband was easy to soothe.

As long as Xie Licheng took his time kissing and making out with him, he'd soon forget all about his earlier grumpiness.

Xie Licheng also picked up on a little quirk of Gu Zhangyuan's—he loved the feel of skin pressed against skin.

Compared to rough, passionate sex, Gu Zhangyuan preferred something more drawn-out and tender.

He liked to press his body against Xie Licheng's, quietly listening to his heartbeat, and that alone was enough to make him blissfully happy.

Xie Licheng didn't quite understand this preference, but he fully respected it.

In fact, by then, Xie Licheng had picked up some weird habits of his own—like being really into stroking his wife's legs.

Luckily, this little kink of his was reserved exclusively for Gu Zhangyuan.

And since Gu Zhangyuan was his husband, being a little weird with him didn't seem like much of a sin at all.