Ch. 249 Reunion
The four of them got off their mounts, which Chu Lian led to one side before directing Urihan to stand nearby them in a position shielded from the wind. Then, Chu Lian moved over to the cloth travel bags hanging from the horses and took out some food.
They leaned against the horses and tried to warm themselves with the horses' body heat. After distributing the food, they had to force themselves to eat in order to preserve their energy.
Chu Lian gulped down some goat's milk and explained her idea to them while they were eating.
Myeryen had been eating peacefully at first, but after hearing Chu Lian's solution, his eyes widened in astonishment.
He said anxiously, "Sister Chu, we can't do that! These two horses are the last thing we can count on. Without them, we'll never be able to walk out of these plains on foot alone!"
Chu Lian knew that Myeryen was speaking the truth. She sucked in a deep breath of bracing cold air and rubbed the flank of the horse she was leaning against before sighing. "Myeryen, take a good look at this horse. Even if we don't use my solution, these two horses won't be able to live till the next morning."
Furthermore, the horses needed food. In their rush to leave the hill and due to Urihan's mistake in estimating the distance they could travel, they hadn't brought any feed for the horses at all.
Without food, the horses wouldn't be able to go on for much longer. Their condition hadn't been very good in the first place, and now...
Myeryen turned to look at the horse behind them. He reached out to touch it and found that its body was trembling, its spirits low. It wasn't a good sign. He was a man of the plains and he herded goats for a living, so he definitely loved the animals he took care of. Unless he had no other choice, he would never hurt a horse.
Myeryen shut his eyes, looking pained. Finally, he nodded. He knew too that killing these two horses was probably their best chance of survival at this point. It was their only option to survive this deadly cold night.
Chu Lian let out a breath of relief after successfully convincing Myeryen. Horses seemed to have human-like intelligence, so she wouldn't have chosen to do so either except in extenuating circumstances.
She looked up at the endless horizon of white snow. As the day's light slowly faded into darkness, she stuffed the last bite of jerky into her mouth and said, "Let's start after we're done eating."
Myeryen nodded with his fists clenched. While eating, he explained Chu Lian's idea to his mother and brother.
Urihan was more cool-headed than her son. Even though Chu Lian's idea was just a short term solution and they would be facing an even more troubling situation the next morning, it was better than freezing to death in the next couple hours.
Once everyone was in agreement, they started preparing everything they needed. Luckily, there were already two swords inside the sacks hanging off the horses. Chu Lian would have gone mad if they only had her tiny dagger to kill the horses with.
Naturally, it was Urihan and Myeryen who handled the actual killing. They had lived with livestock and horses for years and were familiar with slaughtering animals. They knew how to kill a horse with the least amount of suffering.
Once the two horses were lying motionless on the snow, even Chu Lian couldn't help but shed tears for their plight.
It was getting darker and darker now, and the temperature was dropping. Chu Lian had to hurry up.
She and Urihan dug out all the organs from the horses' abdomens and piled them up to one side on the snow. They laid the two horses on their sides. Once all the innards were gone, Chu Lian and Urihan first helped the youngest Narisong into the horse's body. Myeryen then entered the body himself, setting his back to the opening while hugging Narisong.
Chu Lian pushed the pile of innards over the opening, covering the two boys.
The other horse was to be her and Urihan's resting place for the night. Luckily, she and Urihan were both small in stature and slim. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to fit into one horse together.
Chu Lian and Urihan gestured at each other for some time before she finally persuaded Urihan to lay on the inside.
After Urihan had entered the horse's body, Chu Lian squatted down and pushed her way in. Luckily, she still had her fox fur cloak around her so it wasn't too cold, even though she was on the outside.
It smelled terrible inside the horse's belly. Blood and other fluids dripped onto her face. However, for the sake of survival, she had to bear with it.
He Changdi's heart sank even more the further they travelled, chasing the traces of Chu Lian and her party.
It was already completely dark by now. All of the men who had come out with He Changdi were hiding inside the warm pen of the snowboat.
He Changdi opened up the flap a little to look out into the darkness with a grave expression.
Damn it, it was already night!
To be out in the plains during a winter's night without anything to keep warm with was the equivalence of death.
They had a specialised guide with them who was an old barbarian who had lived on the grasslands for decades.
The abnormally serious Xiao Hongyu turned to ask the old guide, "Is there any place to rest nearby?"
The old guide pursed his lips and spoke honestly. "There isn't any place to rest for five kilometers or so from here. It will take at least two days or more to get out of these endless plains."
Hearing that made the expression on He Sanlang's face turn even more icy.
A guard on the outside reported, "Young Master, there are some tracks ahead."
He Changdi's voice came out a little rough as he said, "Keep following the tracks!"
After the guard made a sound of agreement, he passed down the orders.
If not for the snowboat and the warming pen, even trained elite guards like them wouldn't be able to travel in these dark and snowy conditions.
He Changdi had checked the traces that Chu Lian and her party had left back at the hill. After questioning the owner of those tents, he knew exactly what Chu Lian had with her when she had escaped.
How were four people and two horses going to survive out in this kind of night?!
They had chased after her on the snowboat. Along the way, they had found two frozen corpses, both male.
Judging from the direction they had been headed, they were likely Xiao Bojian's men, sent after Chu Lian.
If even they hadn't been able to survive in this weather, how would a young, fragile lady like Chu Lian fare?
He Changdi refused to continue that line of thought.
After seeing how silent his brother was being, Xiao Hongyu couldn't help but try to reassure him. "Brother He, try to think positively. Since Sister-in-Law managed to escape this far, she must have found a way to survive."
He Sanlang shot a glance at Xiao Hongyu. The complicated bitterness in his eyes spoke volumes. He couldn't even think of his past complaints against her right now. His only hope now was to see Chu Lian safe and sound.
Wasn't there the saying 'troublemakers live for thousands of years'? That wicked woman was a master at causing trouble- how could anything happen to her?!
The snowboat glided silently over the snow-covered ground. They continued travelling for what seemed like years to He Sanlang before the whole group abruptly stopped.
He Changdi finally showed some signs of life as he started and headed out of the warm pen to ask why they had stopped.
"What's going on? Why did we stop?" He Sanlang's husky voice was heavy with fatigue.
Li Xing quickly ran over. "Third Young Master, there's no sign of any more tracks..."
Terror took over He Changdi for a moment.
What did they mean by no more tracks? What a bunch of useless fools!
He Changdi disregarded the objections of his subordinates and headed out to see for himself.
The scout had no choice but to lead him to where the tracks had vanished.
The hoof marks had disappeared under the snow. They couldn't find any more tracks despite checking in every possible direction. He Changdi stood in the middle of the endless snow-covered plains. His heart felt like it had been flash frozen into an icy block in his chest, even colder than the northern night around him.
His hands clenched into fists as the depths of his eyes turned murky. He turned to all of his subordinates around him and ordered, "Look around! Even if we have to dig up all the snow in a hundred-kilometre radius, I want to see Third Young Madam in front of me!"
He was normally a man of few words and cold expressions. His subordinates had never seen him in such a frenzy before.
Thus, they could only obey their orders.
Each of them got back onto their respective snowboats and started searching for clues in their surroundings.
He Changdi stood right at the spot where the tracks had disappeared, as if he had turned into a statue. He refused to believe that Chu Lian would have simply vanished and died out here!
At a loss for what to do, his gaze drifted across the surroundings and suddenly noticed that his soldiers had made a campfire not too far away. About twenty metres away from the fire, there was an odd protruding mound...
He Changdi had simply been scanning the horizon when he had noticed the lump. He stopped all movement and just stared at that spot.
Then, he ran like a madman towards the lump on the ground.
Upon arriving, He Changdi stretched out his hand and touched the snow with his fingers. He seemed to have found something there, as his entire body trembled and he immediately dropped to his knees and began shovelling the snow.
As he dug, He Changdi called out for the rest as loudly as he could.
Xiao Hongyu quickly noticed his actions and led a team over, equipped with shovels.
"Dig, dig right here! But be careful!" Xiao Hongyu ordered after seeing how frenzied He Sanlang's movements were.
The top layer of snow was quickly removed, and they finally saw what was underneath: two horses! Two dead horses, to be precise.
Xiao Hongyu stopped digging in disappointment, but He Changdi noticed that the horses' bellies had been sliced open.
His eyes lit up and he threw himself at the horses.
Xiao Hongyu thought that he had gone crazy because they had only found some dead horses. He hurriedly pulled him back and tried to persuade him in a mournful voice. "Brother He, don't lose hope! These are just some horses, but even though Sister-in-Law... Sister-in-Law isn't here, stay strong!"
He Changdi pushed the brat away and let out an angry roar. "What nonsense are you saying? Your sister-in-law is right here inside the horse's belly! Hurry up and help me pull her out!"
After Xiao Hongyu was pushed by He Changdi, he stumbled and fell into the knee-deep snow. It took him a moment to process the words before his expression turned into stunned astonishment. "What? Sister-in-Law is in the horse's belly!? The hell are you guys waiting for?! Quick, we have to save her!"
He Changdi pulled apart the horse's belly with his bare hands, only to discover the brothers Myeryen and Narisong curled up together within.
Even while hidden inside a horse's belly, they hadn't been completely shielded from the low temperatures outside. The two brothers had been sickly to start with, so they had already passed out by now.
He Changdi stared blankly at them for a second. When he finally recognised that they weren't Chu Lian, he turned to the other horse immediately.
Xiao Hongyu was already there with his men.
Once the horse's belly was opened, they found Chu Lian lying inside, hugging a barbarian woman.
Xiao Hongyu cried out in surprise before shouting, "Brother He, Sister-in-Law... Sister-in-Law is here!"
The moment He Sanlang had turned around, he had already seen Chu Lian lying in the middle of the horse's belly with her eyes shut. He pushed away the people surrounding the horse like a madman before throwing himself down on the ground next to Chu Lian. His hands shook as they reached out to embrace her, his heart in his throat. It was only when he felt the warmth of her body on his fingertips that his heart finally settled back down into his chest.
Ch. 250 In the Warm Pen
Chu Lian had already passed out. Even though she had her fox fur cloak wrapped around her, she had still been affected by the cold since she had been lying on the outside.
He Changdi carried her in his arms like she was a rare, precious treasure. He hugged her tightly, as if afraid that she would disappear from his embrace if he loosened his hold even a little.
Chu Lian was all covered in blood and fluids from the horse's belly and she didn't smell very pleasant right now. However, He Changdi was able to ignore the nauseating odour completely.
He looked down at Chu Lian's bloodstained face and kissed her forehead gently.
Xiao Hongyu was so shocked by the sight that he stared in astonishment.
He recalled how Brother He had been so obsessed with cleanliness back in the northern border camp. When he looked at how Brother He was now carrying someone covered in blood and dirt, Xiao Hongyu felt like his image of him had been completely shattered.
He Sanlang brought Chu Lian into the warm pen of one of the snowboats. Although Xiao Hongyu was usually more careless with his actions, he was considerate when it came to certain things. He let He Sanlang have the warm pen all to himself and went over to squeeze into Li Xing's after leaving some orders for his men.
He Changdi carefully set down the woman in his arms on a fleece blanket.
It was much warmer inside the pen compared to the cold night outside. He personally took off Chu Lian's bloodstained fox fur cloak and threw it off to one side. Next, he grabbed a damp cloth from somewhere and wiped away the dirt on Chu Lian's face.
His dark eyes were locked onto the unconscious Chu Lian, and his normally cool expression had softened into a gentle gaze.
By the time he was done cleaning her face, the doctors in their team had rushed over.
He Changdi called them in with his low, magnetic voice. The doctor entered the warm pen with a wooden box full of medicines.
By then, He Changdi had already covered up the whole of Chu Lian's body with a blanket, with only her slender white wrist revealed for the doctor to take her pulse.
He Sanlang's face was still carved into its usual strict expression without any change in emotion. However, the hands hidden under his sleeves were tightly curled, and he was still tense stiff as he stared at Chu Lian's ashen face.
"How is it?"
The middle-aged barbarian doctor took his hands off Chu Lian's wrist and, in a respectful tone of voice, he answered, "Captain, please don't worry. Honoured Lady has a healthy body and she hasn't suffered the cold for too long. She only slipped into unconsciousness because of the low temperatures. Once her body warms up again, she'll be fine after resting for a few days. Do keep her warm over the next few days."
It was only after hearing the doctor's diagnosis that He Sanlang finally let go of his worries.
"Go and take a look at the mother and children who were with Honoured Lady!"
The doctor quickly left.
There was some hot water boiling over the brazier in the pen, so He Sanlang dipped a damp handkerchief into the water and wiped Chu Lian's hands. When he saw that her hands were reddened from the cold, he wrapped them in another cloth dipped in hot water to warm them up.
Chu Lian was still trapped in an unconscious daze, her mind heavy and fuzzy.
As it had gotten colder and colder, she had struggled to stay conscious. However, in the end, she hadn't been able to resist the cold and fainted.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the surroundings had suddenly become warmer. There was also a strangely familiar and pleasant scent in the air. She felt like her body had been submerged in a furnace, its red hot embers radiating a heat that soothed her discomfort. Her hands were suddenly wrapped in something warm, making her so comfortable she wanted to sigh in relief.
Chu Lian's furrowed brows slowly eased apart.
At this point in time, He Changdi was sitting right next to her.
His eyes were still fixed on her with murky, unreadable depths, and his thin lips were pressed into a line.
He had assumed that he was only slightly attracted to this wicked woman. It wasn't until now that he discovered that he had completely fallen into Chu Lian's 'trap'. Willingly, at that.
He would never forget the anxiety and despair he had felt while searching for her earlier.
He Sanlang stared at the 'shameless' wicked woman. She had long since stolen a spot in his heart, and although she had the exact same face as that person, his feelings towards her had already changed.
While deep asleep, Chu Lian felt a hint of a chill. There were still limits to how warm the pen on the snowboat could be when compared to a tent, especially since it was the middle of the night.
After her body had finally adjusted to the temperatures of the pen, Chu Lian regained her sensitivity to the cold.
Her relaxed brow started to wrinkle again and she mumbled under her breath, "Cold..."
He Sanlang had long drifted away, immersed in his thoughts. He was only called back to earth by Chu Lian's murmur. When he looked around him and realised there weren't any spare blankets, He Changdi blanked out. Per the doctor's instructions, he had to keep her warm, but without anything to do so with, he would have to rely on body heat.
He Changdi loosened the ties around his neck and took off both his cloak and outer layer before lying down next to Chu Lian. He reached out and pulled her into his embrace before wrapping his clothes around them both.
The chain of actions came naturally to He Changdi. The two of them had slept like this back in the cave as well, so this was familiar to him.
Although Chu Lian's body was small and slim, she had curves in the right places. Furthermore, she had specially trained herself to prepare for the trip to the north, so even the little padding on her waist had gone away.
Curled up in He Sanlang's arms, she was like a soft little doll.
He Changdi didn't want to let her suffer the slightest bit of cold, so he hugged her tightly to his chest.
Men had higher body temperatures than women in the first place. Once Chu Lian had gotten close to this heat source, she subconsciously wanted to get even closer. It was all part of her natural instincts.
In order to hug her heat source tight, one of her legs even found its way between He Sanlang's legs.
The cool-faced He Changdi looked down at Chu Lian for a moment as his body stiffened. After some time, he simply let her do as she liked.
The two of them were each down to a single layer of clothing, which was thin to begin with. He Sanlang had one arm under Chu Lian's neck while the other circled around her slender waist.
Chu Lian was exhaling warm puffs of air around He Changdi's collarbone. One of her hands had subconsciously curled around the collar of He Changdi's shirt, like she trusted and relied on him.
The couple was stuck close to each other without any gaps between them.
He Sanlang's cool mask had melted a little by now. When his arms were filled with Chu Lian, it felt as if his heart was full, too.
Hidden from Chu Lian's view, He Changdi sighed in satisfaction and shut his eyes, as if he was about to join Chu Lian in slumber.
He hadn't been able to rest for a very long time. His nerves had been tightly wound for the entire search, and he had only been able to relax once she had finally returned to his arms again, so he was rather tired.
He Sanlang's eyelids slowly slid shut and he was just about to fall asleep when Chu Lian suddenly moved. She wriggled as if trying to burrow deeper into his embrace. It seemed like her current position wasn't too comfortable and she wanted to change into a better one.
After Chu Lian moved, He Changdi completely lost all traces of sleepiness.
He loosened his hold on her and let Chu Lian shift into a more comfortable position. Once she had fallen back into deep slumber, he slowly tightened his arms around her again, keeping her safe and secure in his embrace.
However, after all that movement, He Sanlang didn't feel like sleeping any longer.
Helpless, he sighed and stared blankly at his surroundings while keeping a tight hold of her.
After a short moment, He Changdi started to feel like something wasn't quite right.
His expression changed and his ears started to flush red.
While Chu Lian was ensconced in his arms, her mouth was very close to his Adam's apple. The warm puffs of her breath were making his mouth dry.
He had been too worried earlier to think about how intimate their actions were. Now that he had calmed down, everything that had escaped his notice earlier was standing out. It was hard for him to ignore it again.
Since the two of them were bundled so tightly together and wearing such thin clothing, he could feel the softness of her chest on his.
The palm that he had placed on Chu Lian's waist suddenly felt burning hot. He froze up, not daring to make the slightest bit of movement.
He tried to forcefully adjust his breathing, trying to make himself calm down.
He Sanlang's tall body was now tensed like a drawn bow.
A bow that was already pulled to its limit and was about to shoot at any moment now with all its stored energy.
The sleeping Chu Lian just had to start getting restless.
He Sanlang had been tense with restraint due to the overwhelmingly strange sensations he was experiencing. His arms had turned into tight bars around Chu Lian, holding her in a vice-like grip as he put all his effort into trying to repress his feelings. Chu Lian wanted to escape the uncomfortably tight hold around her, so she started to wriggle.
She rubbed her body against He Changdi's and let out an uncomfortable moan. It was only then that He Changdi finally realised that he was crushing her. Panicked, he immediately released her, a light blush dyeing his handsome face pink.
Chu Lian wriggled a few more times before realising that her uncomfortable bindings had disappeared. She smacked her lips and slipped back into peaceful slumber.
He Changdi's body remained stiff for a long time after that. It wasn't until Chu Lian stopped moving that he finally dared to move. The pen's surface area was small; there was only so much space for them to sleep on.
Afraid that she would still be affected by the cold, He Changdi could only attempt to hug Chu Lian once again, but more carefully this time.
He reached out towards her under the blanket and wrapped his arm around Chu Lian's waist. However, what his fingers touched wasn't smooth fabric- rather, it was something soft and warm.
He Changdi reverted into a statue again. This time, his whole face turned a bright lobster red. The thoughts that he had managed to suppress only a few moments ago came flooding back into his mind.
Chu Lian's earlier movements had caused her clothes to unravel a little, revealing some of the smooth skin around her waist.
He Sanlang wanted to remove his scorching hot palm from Chu Lian's bare skin, but it was like it was stuck there- he couldn't move it at all...
Although He Changdi's expression remained as cool as usual, the raging blush on his face revealed his inner turmoil. He swallowed hard, gulping a mouthful of saliva.
He Changdi looked down at the woman in his arms.
Her lips were currently formed into a pout and her hair was slightly messy. A few strands had fallen over her flushed cheeks, right under her eyes. Her cute little nose was twitching slightly.
He Sanlang's gaze couldn't help but follow the line of her nose down to Chu Lian's slightly parted red lips.
He pressed his own dry lips together.
Inch by inch, He Sanlang moved closer until he could feel the warmth of her breath on his face. At this point, he forced himself to stop.
He Changdi was fighting a massive battle in his heart. His breathing became more hurried. In the end, he could no longer hold himself back and he placed a light kiss on Chu Lian's soft lips.
The palm resting at her waist glided over her skin before moving upwards in a very natural movement.
He still remembered the heavenly softness that had been pressed against his hard chest earlier, tempting him to lose control of himself...