TPATTHU Chapter 39
by VolareDusk descended, and the remnant crimson sun moved visibly towards the horizon, painting a molten gold hue.
Xiao Zhinian and Shen Zhejiang strolled within the posthouse to aid digestion, occasionally noticing lantern-lighting clerks methodically igniting the wind lanterns hanging from the eaves, one by one, appearing like clusters of flames from afar.
“With nothing else to do, how about I make a bet with you, sir?”
Xiao Zhinian looked up at the sky, and seemingly struck by some thought, suddenly proposed this.
Shen Zhejiang casually asked, “Bet on what?”
“Let’s bet…” Xiao Zhinian stroked his chin, drawing out a languid tone, “Let’s bet on whether there will be a moon tonight, how about that?”
“There will be.”
Shen Zhejiang was straightforward, reaching a firm conclusion.
“Hey, sir, how can you be so devoid of romance?” Xiao Zhinian laughed. “Since that’s the case, I’ll guess there won’t be. If you lose, sir, you have to kiss me. If I lose, it’s my turn to kiss you, how’s that?”
Shen Zhejiang glanced at him, “Boring.”
After uttering these words, he walked away quickly, his ear tips faintly turning red in a place where no one could notice.
Xiao Zhinian caught up with him, suddenly pulling Shen Zhejiang into a warm embrace, his gaze deep as he lowered his head to fixate on him: “Sir is exceedingly clever and must have guessed my intention.”
Shen Zhejiang pressed against his chest, pushing him slightly, not quite a reprimand: “In public, this is indecent!”
“Sir, take a look around, where are the people?”
Hearing this, Shen Zhejiang indeed looked around, only to find that they had unknowingly walked to the back of the posthouse, enveloped in a large shadow. Even if someone passed by, they might not see them.
Just now, he was pondering things, letting Xiao Zhinian lead the way, and hadn’t paid attention.
It turned out Xiao Zhinian had long been plotting this.
Shen Zhejiang turned his head away, refusing decisively: “Absolutely not.”
Xiao Zhinian was the kind of person who wouldn’t give up until he achieved his goal, using every trick in the book: “Just one, okay? These days, sir is always resting at home, and I can’t even touch the hem of your robe. Just indulge me this once, I promise I’ll listen to you from now on.”
This person’s promises were as easy as drinking water, casually made and never kept.
Shen Zhejiang knew this perfectly well, stating without doubt: “No…”
He only formed the word with his mouth before his lips were blocked.
Xiao Zhinian kissed him gently, as if afraid of hurting him in the slightest, yet not daring to use too much force. Every action was filled with tenderness and lingering affection, as if holding the most precious treasure in the world, reluctant to let go for a long time.
In this gentle and lingering embrace, Shen Zhejiang gradually shed the soft armor he usually wore to keep people at bay, as if he could finally truly give himself to another person, both feeling a sense of security and nervousness. His fingers, gripping Xiao Zhinian’s sleeve, trembled slightly, trying to hide it while suppressing his emotions.
Dry wood would naturally ignite a fire.
Especially for Xiao Zhinian, Shen Zhejiang was like a sip of cool, sweet dew to a person dying of thirst in the desert. He had longed for it, impatiently tasted it, but didn’t know why it was like a drop in the bucket, still unable to quench his thirst.
Having tasted the forbidden fruit, the youth was not so easily calmed. The fire spread, and Xiao Zhinian felt as if his entire body was burning, with a hazy mist clouding his vision. Only the fragrance emanating from the person in his arms became exceptionally clear.
Shen Zhejiang was kissed until his legs felt weak, and he almost couldn’t stand.
“How did it die again? This is the fifth one since the beginning of the month, what are we going to do?”
Just then, a sighing and perplexed voice came from the stable.
Shen Zhejiang shuddered, immediately waking up, and pushed Xiao Zhinian away. Xiao Zhinian, pushed for no reason, felt extremely wronged.
Shen Zhejiang raised his hand to smooth the small wrinkles on his clothes, took another step away from Xiao Zhinian, and then said, “Someone’s there.”
Xiao Zhinian really wanted to drag out that hateful, detestable fellow and beat him up.
Really, he had finally managed to coax Shen Zhejiang out for a walk tonight, taking advantage of the darkness, and when things were getting intimate, the rest would have been natural.
Indignantly, he followed the voice to see who it was, only to see a clerk standing under a wooden shed.
The clerk held a book in one hand and a pen in the other, checking the horses in the stable back and forth while marking the book, occasionally sighing, his face full of worry.
He should be the one worrying now!
Xiao Zhinian, angry but unable to vent, kicked up some sand.
Clearly, Shen Zhejiang also saw that person. Calming himself, he said to Xiao Zhinian, “Let’s go, see what’s going on.”
“What am I going to do? At this rate, we won’t have enough money.”
The clerk sighed deeply at the stable. Just as he turned around, he saw Shen Zhejiang floating towards him.
These days, Shen Zhejiang often entered and exited the posthouse with Xiao Zhinian, and the clerks recognized him. They didn’t find his appearance strange.
However, as he passed Shen Zhejiang, he saw Xiao Zhinian staring at him with a face full of resentment, scaring him into taking a big step back, wondering if he had offended him.
“What happened?”
Shen Zhejiang asked.
The clerk quickly closed the book, stuffed it into his sleeve, and said with great distress, “Greetings, esteemed sirs. I’m counting the number of post horses. Every month-end, I have to recount them to see if we need to buy a new batch next month.”
Xiao Zhinian crossed his arms, his face displeased, and said, “Then what are you sighing about, so unlucky!”
Seeing that the clerk was frightened, Shen Zhejiang said, “Post horses are overworked, and losses during the journey are common. Why do you seem so worried?”
As soon as the clerk thought about the horses, his eyes, nose, and mouth almost crumpled into a ball, unable to find a place to cry: “But six horses died last month, and five have died this month. If these post horses died from exhaustion, that would be fine, but they’re dying for no reason in the stable. I don’t know how to explain this to the postmaster.”
“No warning signs?”
“I checked, there weren’t any. There’s one that just died here, we’ll have someone dispose of it tomorrow morning. Take a look, esteemed sirs.”
The clerk took down a lamp from the wooden post beside the stable door, opened the gate, and led Xiao Zhinian and Shen Zhejiang inside.
In the darkness, a horse with reddish-brown mane was lying on the ground covered with straw. Its body was strong, and as the clerk said, it looked very peaceful, with no signs of struggle.
Shen Zhejiang took the lamp from the clerk, squatted down, wanting to take a closer look. Seeing this, Xiao Zhinian stood in front of him and said, “It’s too dirty here, I’ll do it. Sir, give me the light.”
A warm current flowed through Shen Zhejiang’s heart. He gave a soft “Mm,” and moved the light closer to Xiao Zhinian, so that he could see more clearly.
Objectively speaking, Xiao Zhinian was very handsome, with a high nose bridge and thick eyelashes, which would droop down when he was doing something attentively and seriously. Especially those eyes, illuminated by the warm yellow light, seemed to have all the stars of the sky quenched in them.
Although he was not yet twenty years old, and sometimes acted childishly, he inexplicably gave people a sense of reliability, as if as long as he was by his side, he didn’t have to worry about anything, because he would arrange everything properly.
Making Shen Zhejiang couldn’t help but want to try to put himself…
“Sir, sir?”
The voice in his ear went from far to near, until it was clearly audible.
Shen Zhejiang suddenly came back to his senses, surprised that he had been staring at Xiao Zhinian in a daze.
Fortunately, Xiao Zhinian hadn’t noticed.
“A little more this way, yes, right here.”
Shen Zhejiang had always been decisive and planned things out, rarely listening to others’ instructions. But at this moment, he moved the lamp according to Xiao Zhinian’s wishes.
Unfortunately, Xiao Zhinian didn’t catch Shen Zhejiang’s expression, only focused on looking over the horse, searching for any possible signs.
“Wait!”
As the candlelight slowly passed over the horse’s ear, Xiao Zhinian’s expression froze, and he lifted it up, exposing it to the two of them.
There was a small scratch there, which would have been missed without careful inspection.
Could this be related?
Shen Zhejiang raised his head and asked the clerk, “What about the other horses?”
The clerk said, “Dead horses are always handled by Luo Xiaobei, only he knows. If you want to ask, esteemed sir, I’ll call him over.”
Xiao Zhinian then asked, “Who is Luo Xiaobei?”
“He’s a courier in our posthouse, he’s been here for seven or eight years, usually doing odd jobs. Half a year ago, the postmaster gave him this job. This person is honest, and sometimes when we’re too busy, he’ll help feed the horses, never complaining.”
This person probably has a clue.
Shen Zhejiang asked, “When did these horses start dying one after another?”
The clerk couldn’t answer for a moment, recalling, “Maybe it was last month, no, it was even earlier, it seems to be three months ago, yes, yes, I remember drinking with Luo Xiaobei outside on the seventh of June, things started happening after that day.”
In that case, the person named Luo Xiaobei is highly suspicious.
But what does he want to do by doing this?
Shen Zhejiang said in a very calm tone, “Don’t spread the word about tonight’s events, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
“Yes.”