SEHE Chapter 127

Frog

“What’s wrong with you?” Pei Yanci asked curiously. “Why are you spacing out? What are you thinking about?”

“Don’t try to fool me. My eyes are covered with white silk—how could you possibly tell if I’m spacing out or not?”

Pei Yanci didn’t mind and asked if Wushu had found anything.

Wushu shook his head while holding the account books. “Nothing. They’re all muddled accounts—many entries don’t match up.”

A few mismatches would be easy to investigate, but with so many discrepancies, it was difficult to track down anyone trying to slip through the cracks.

“Bring me an arrow to look at.”

Wushu randomly grabbed one. Between the arrow fletching were some indentations. Looking closely, there was a character “Yu” carved into it.

This was an official arrow of Great Yu.

The arrows the bandits who had tried to kill him carried had nothing carved on them—they were completely smooth.

It wasn’t them.

But the information from the Elu Bureau wouldn’t be wrong.

“You and Wuli continue investigating here. Tangxi Zhui and I will leave first.”

As Pei Yanci spoke, he helped Tangxi Zhui up and took his hand to leave.

“Big brother, where are you going?” Wushu called out.

“It’s a secret.”

The guards immediately followed behind them, watching as Pei Yanci led a blind man wandering around the streets, occasionally buying small trinkets. Gradually they relaxed their vigilance.

“Want to shake off Ji Huaiyong’s men?” Tangxi Zhui leaned close to his ear and whispered.

“Do you have a way?” Pei Yanci said. “We can’t expose the Elu Bureau’s people.”

“Call me ‘master’ and I’ll help you.”

“You’ve only taught me martial arts for a few days—I’d be at a disadvantage.”

“Then call me ‘husband.'”

Pei Yanci secretly kicked him and said, “Have some self-awareness. If anyone’s calling, it should be ‘wife.'”

“That works too, I’m not picky,” Tangxi Zhui laughed. “Unlike someone who’s used to enjoying themselves in bed but loves saving face during the day.”

“Isn’t the one who loves saving face the husband?” Pei Yanci called out once, feeling it wasn’t that hard to say. “Husband doesn’t seem very capable—I’ll go find someone strong and sturdy another day.”

“Then I’ll have to keep a close watch on my wife.” Tangxi Zhui wrapped his arm around his waist.

The soldiers guarding from behind had been properly keeping watch, but suddenly everything became overlapping shadows. When they rubbed their eyes to look carefully, the two living people had simply vanished before their eyes from just a few steps away.

Pei Yanci felt like he was walking normally, but when he turned to look, those two soldiers were staring in their direction with surprise, yet their focus wasn’t on the two of them at all.

“I’ve spirited you away,” Tangxi Zhui said near his ear. “Where do you want to go?”

“Is there anywhere fun nearby? Have you been here before?”

“I have.” Tangxi Zhui answered honestly. “If you want to have fun, why go through all this trouble to shake off the guards? Are you doing this on purpose for Ji Huaiyong to see?”

“If he doesn’t trip over his own feet, how can we find anything out?”

Pei Yanci and Tangxi Zhui spent most of the day sightseeing. When they returned to the post station, Ji Huaiyong’s men had been waiting there for a long time.

As soon as they saw them arrive, they immediately invited them into a carriage.

When they reached the banquet restaurant, he exchanged pleasantries with Ji Huaiyong, greeted some of Duzhou’s garrison generals, and then sat down according to official rank.

After three rounds of wine, Ji Huaiyong probed, “Daren, did you discover anything this afternoon?”

His men had followed them halfway before losing track, which made him somewhat anxious.

Shaking them off—who knows what they might have secretly investigated.

“How could it be that fast?” Pei Yanci said. “The frontier is harsh and bitter—you’ve all really suffered, guarding for years at a time, always having to watch out for Great Xi’s harassment. By rights, ever since young General Jiang Yi dealt Great Xi a crushing defeat at the beginning of the year, we should have been able to enjoy several years of peace, right?”

“How could that be? Look, the autumn harvest just ended and Great Xi comes to raid us every few days,” one subordinate said. “Otherwise why would we constantly requisition arrows and arrowheads from the armory?”

Though perhaps they were sending them to southern bandits to kill him instead.

“Brother Pei, we’re all on the same side here. You can’t hide things from us. If you find problems with our border defense, please point them out so we can quickly correct them. Don’t you agree?” Ji Huaiyong’s tone already carried an inadvertent trace of killing intent.

“My servant is still investigating. Tomorrow I should be able to give you a satisfactory answer.” Pei Yanci filled his cup with wine and proactively clinked glasses with him.

“If there really is something we haven’t done properly…”

“I’m just a civil official, temporarily sent here by His Majesty’s urgent order. What inadequacies could I possibly spot? General Ji, rest assured.” Pei Yanci smiled. “Even if there are inadequacies, they’re surely the result of the general exercising emergency authority. How could Anjing not protect their own right-hand man?”

“That had better be the case.” Ji Huaiyong tilted his head back and downed a cup of wine, still advising, “Under normal circumstances there are no problems, but if you do discover any issues, please feel free to point them out, Brother. We’ll correct everything.”

“Certainly.”

The evening banquet ended with host and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves. Pei Yanci was drunk as mud and needed two soldiers to support him to get into the carriage.

Ji Huaiyong told the driver to deliver him safely to the courier station. When only his trusted confidants remained, he asked, “How are the preparations?”

“All ready. The other three people that surnamed Pei brought have all been drugged unconscious at the post station.”

“Good. Load the carts quickly and transport them north.”

He spat on the ground. “Really, those people in Anjing only know how to collect money but don’t know to keep things under wraps.”

“Should we skip this run?”

“Why skip it? We already made arrangements. It’s only once every two or three months—do you know how many silver taels we’d lose if we skip once?” Ji Huaiyong cursed. “Are you going to make up what we’d have to pay those leeches in Anjing?”

His subordinate looked embarrassed.

“Tell the brothers to be alert tonight. Don’t leave any traces coming and going, and station more men around the post station.” Ji Huaiyong felt uneasy. His alertness, honed from years of fighting on the battlefield, made him feel that something would happen tonight. Especially this afternoon, when Pei Yanci had shaken off his men and his whereabouts had been unknown for half the day.

That man definitely knew something. Anjing definitely knew something—that’s why they came to investigate so suddenly.

Pei Yanci was dead drunk and unconscious. When getting out of the carriage, he couldn’t be roused no matter how they tried. The accompanying soldiers had no choice but to carry him to the bed in the post station. They closed the door and left with peace of mind.

A rustling sound came from inside the room. Tangxi Zhui walked into the room. “Everyone’s gone.”

Seeing him motionless, he moved the person further onto the bed. Pei Yanci turned over and pinned his hand underneath.

“What good does it do you to make a blind man’s hand go numb?”

Pei Yanci lifted his upper body and planted a wine-scented kiss with a loud “smack” on his cool face, nuzzling his cheek and taking advantage of the opportunity to cop a feel, acting coquettishly. “I’m drunk—how could I move?”

The wine had heated him up, and just in time, someone who could cool him down had arrived.

“Stop pretending. People have already left the post station.”

“How do you know I’m not drunk?” He thought his act was quite convincing.

“When you’re really drunk, you just go wild,” Tangxi Zhui recalled previous incidents. “Like a frog.”

Going “gua gua gua” and throwing tantrums, nothing would do—very difficult to serve.

“A frog?” Pei Yanci’s expression cracked a little. He felt his consistently good image in front of Tangxi Zhui had collapsed.

Tangxi Zhui kissed his flushed, slightly warm cheek—soft, hot, carrying the fragrance of wine, quite delicious—but his mouth made a disgusted “tsk” sound. “Hurry up and wash. I don’t want to eat wine-soaked frog yet.”

“Screw off.” Pei Yanci grabbed a long weapon case and threw it at him.

Three or four months had passed, and their injuries had mostly healed, except for Tangxi Zhui’s eyes.

He called for a bucket of hot water. Too lazy to go behind the screen, he simply undressed right in front of Tangxi Zhui and sank into the wooden tub with a sigh.

The charcoal in the room made soft crackling sounds. Besides that, there were only the occasional sounds of Pei Yanci’s movements in the water and the rippling.

Tangxi Zhui’s mouth felt dry. He licked his lips.

“Isn’t it getting a bit hot in here?” He tugged at his inner robe’s collar.

The charcoal fire was the only light source in the room, bright red and darkness interweaving, embracing, licking at each other.

“I also feel it’s a bit hot.” Pei Yanci gathered up his black hair again, smoothing it and draping it outside the wooden tub.

Tangxi Zhui sat on the edge of the bed, motionless.

Among the waterfall of black hair, a sharply defined face outlined in gold was revealed, along with one bare shoulder.

Pei Yanci glanced at him sideways and scooped up a handful of clear water to pour over his shoulder. Crystal water droplets slid down from his round, delicate, snow-white shoulder, becoming transparent and amber-yellow in the faint firelight.

Like melting amber and beeswax slowly flowing.

“You’re flirting with a blind man.”

Pei Yanci braced his hand on the edge of the tub and slowly turned around to face him directly.

Suddenly, he said, “When did your eyes heal?”

“Hmm?” Tangxi Zhui tilted his head.

“Still pretending?” Pei Yanci said irritably, scooping up water to splash at him.

If his eyes weren’t healed, how would he know he was using seductive looks to entice him?

A black fan opened, blocking all the water droplets.

More water splashed toward him.

“Don’t play around—be careful of catching cold.”

“Will you stop pretending or not?”

Tangxi Zhui’s scattered gaze slowly focused. His deep purple irises filled with a trace of seductive wickedness as he half-covered his mouth with the black fan. “Even Xiao Pei’er’s bathwater smells so fragrant.”

“Let me give you some advice: lust is a blade hanging over one’s head.” Pei Yanci flew out of the tub and kicked toward him.

“You even dared to pretend to be blind to win sympathy!”

Tangxi Zhui caught his ankle and pulled him closer. Seeing that he was about to do the splits in his embrace, Pei Yanci’s other leg immediately followed up, his knee striking upward toward his chin.

Tangxi Zhui dropped the black fan and gently redirected the force.

Pei Yanci caught his fan and opened it. The sharp, thin blade at the end of the fan ribs stabbed toward Tangxi Zhui.

“Do you dare lie to me again?”

“Oh my, Xiao Pei’er, such a dangerous thing—you mustn’t play with it.”

Tangxi Zhui grabbed his wrist and with a gentle twist dislocated his wrist to neutralize the force.

Hearing a pained grunt in his ear, just as he had retrieved his black bone fan, a force struck between his legs.

“Mmm…”

Pei Yanci smiled triumphantly.

The next moment, he was pushed down onto the bed and firmly pinned.

“You…”

Tangxi Zhui took his earlobe into his mouth. “Xiao Pei’er, I’m a eunuch. Kicking there is useless.”

“Then why did you cry out?!”

“I just cried out to let you hear it. You like it.”

“Who likes it? Mmm…” Pei Yanci said angrily, “Not one eunuch is any good, and you’re the worst.”

“Mm, I’m the worst.” Tangxi Zhui efficiently repositioned his wrist back in place. “This worst thing only wants to receive a bit more care from Xiao Pei’er.”

Just as things were about to get out of hand, Pei Yanci hurriedly said, “Wait, I still have things to do.”

“I know.”

Tangxi Zhui scattered delicate kisses all over his face. “No more wine smell. Let’s go.”

“Clothes, my clothes.”

“Without me, who would serve you?” Tangxi Zhui scooped him up from the bed. “You’re really a little ancestor.”

Pei Yanci simply hooked both arms around his neck.

The wine was starting to take effect, and his body felt a bit soft.

Tangxi Zhui sighed and slowly bent down, prostrating himself before him.

Two quarters of an hour later, he looked at the dazed person with satisfaction and tenderness, wiping away the saltiness from the corner of his mouth.

“Feeling better?”

“Mm.” Pei Yanci made a sound like a kitten.