"You're looking at me like I'm hungry again, General!" he whispered. Xiao Xiang yue suppressed an annoyed eye roll.
He had only wanted to teach him a lesson. One night in the detention center without food or water, and he could have been a free man again tomorrow morning. But what was he going to do now? He couldn't just let him walk around free like that, could he?
"I'll make you a proposal," Xiao Xiang yu began, and Zhixin's eyes lit up even more intensely.
"Whatever you want," he cooed, lifting his face just inches from Xiao Xiang yu's. The general ignored his proximity.
In fact, he grinned back, and Zhixin felt uneasy. Someone like Xiao Xiang yu shouldn't be grinning. Had he made a mistake?
"Very well, tomorrow you will help me recover the bodies. After all, you seem to know the way to Chaisang. After that, I'll let you go," said Xiao Xiang yu.
"If you want to spend the night with me, just say so," Zhixin grinned broadly.
Xiao Xiang yu almost lost his patience.
"Now listen to me, I don't know where you come from or what customs you practice that make you talk such nonsense all the time. But now it's enough," he said sternly.
"Ohoo, then why do your eyes tell me something different?" the young man replied cheekily.
"Then take another look, I'm sure you'll see nothing but a smoldering desire to kill," Xiao Xiang yu growled.
And Zhixin looked at him. Normally, there was no one except his brother who would look Xiao Xiang yu directly in the face. But Zhixin was even so bold as to lean forward even further. Neither of them backed down or wanted to admit defeat. The crowd around them began to whisper when Zhixin flashed another broad grin.
"Ah yes, there, at the back, behind all the things you'd like to do to me, I detect a tiny bit of bloodlust," he said quietly.
Xiao Xiang yu pulled him out of the staring crowd and made his way with him to a small tavern on the outskirts of town, where they didn't attract so much attention.
His stallion, who was used to better treatment, whinnied grumpily when his master left him alone in the drafty stable. With few words and a few taels of gold, Xiao Xiang yu ordered a room and something to eat, which would be brought to him. He tied Zhixin to the foot of the bed.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have me on the bed... All right, all right!" he protested as Xiao Xiang yu tore off a piece of the sheet to stuff his mouth.
"I'll be quiet, I'm already quiet!" he grumbled, laying his head on his crossed arms, bending one leg and crossing the other over it.
He watched Xiao Xiang yu devour the unappetizing meal. He sighed as he stared at the ceiling.
Not needing food or water was quite useful. He couldn't understand why Chengzhu and his master had insisted on maintaining this custom for centuries. Perhaps because they were both princes? His master had become a ghost almost five hundred years after Chengzhu.
He sighed and looked at the general from the side. Xiao Xiang yu sat in the lotus position in front of the low table in the room, his eyes closed and breathing evenly. Nevertheless, Zhixin sensed his alertness and a certain coldness emanating from his aura.
If he moved even an inch wrong, he would surely have his blade at his throat. Xiao Xiang yu looked good even in profile. His long eyelashes, which almost touched his cheeks, his slightly parted lips. Zhixin had never been able to understand this obsession with people.
To him, they were all weak, fragile beings with a dwindling life expectancy. But when he looked at Xiao Xiang yu like this, he could feel the urge to run his fingers through his long hair, touch his white, soft skin, and conjure up a different expression on his face than the one that was usually so angry.
He sighed again as his gaze fell on his three-tailed whip. Tomorrow evening he would be a free spirit again, there was no need to get into more trouble than necessary. If Weijiezhu got wind that he had messed with the general of the imperial army, his master would surely be furious.
The power shift in Duifang was still too fresh, the open wound Chengzhu had left behind was still bleeding. Which spirit and demon would fight for Weijiezhu if he brought trouble to Duifang?
What a dilemma! He was so curious to see what Xiao Xiang yu would do if he just ran away. Was the general so uptight that he would chase after him until he caught him again?
The idea of playing cat and mouse with him across the country was too tempting. But Weijiezhu's angry gaze in his mind's eye kept him from doing so. He wrestled with himself all night until dawn, and was in a bad mood when Xiao Xiang yu woke up from his meditation and dragged him away again.
The men sent by the governor couldn't have been more incompetent. They were either young whippersnappers who wet their pants at the mere thought of passing through the city gates, or men so close to retirement that they wouldn't live to see it after the march.
Xiao Xiang yu rubbed his temples. Finally, he chose two young men who at least wore their swords correctly on their belts and sent the others home.
"What are your names?" he asked as he examined the two while they harnessed the horses to the carts.
"Lou Xuan!" replied the first, bowing with his fist clenched.
"My name is Xue Ping," replied the other, following the first's example. At least they seemed to have some decency and respect.
"You've never seen a dead person before, have you?" Zhixin remarked disparagingly, eyeing the two skeptically. Lou Xuan and Xue Ping exchanged glances. Apparently, they didn't know how to deal with the captive, who was so insolent as to speak up. Zhixin gave Xiao Xiang yu a meaningful look.
"Don't blame me if you have to load two more good-for-nothings onto the cart later," he said snidely. Xiao Xiang yu reluctantly admitted that Zhixin was right. But that didn't change the fact that he needed help.
At the gates of the city, they had only been following the road for half an hour when Xiao Xiang yu untied Zhixin's bonds. The young man looked at him skeptically.
"You're not free yet!" said Xiao Xiang yu, tapping the whip on his hip. 'You'll only get it back once we've taken the bodies to Chaisang and handed them over to their families,' he clarified.
Zhixin just shrugged listlessly. He wasn't in the mood for jokes today.
"If you weren't planning on locking me up for good, a few blows would have been enough instead of sentencing me to forced labor," he said. Xiao Xiang yu shook his head.
"You are insolent and have used inappropriate language. Your attack was not intended to kill me, and you did not offer any further resistance. Physical punishment is unnecessary. I am merely trying to teach you a little more decorum," replied Xiao Xiang yu.
Lou Xuan and Xue Ping exchanged glances. They had heard very different stories about the two from their mothers and sisters the night before.
There had been intense looks and the general had even taken the vagabond to his room to spend the night with him.
But both stood at attention and carefully led the carts down the street when they caught Xiao Xiang yu's eye. He was leading his black horse by the halter, while Zhixin, with his arms crossed behind his head, trotted alongside him. They didn't talk much, and by the time they reached the remains of the caravan, it was already noon.