BLHO Chapter 68

The late-night camp was faintly filled with the sound of opera, the actors’ small voices long and melodious, scratching at the itch in people’s hearts.

Han Mao’s spacious military tent revealed a few slivers of light, the entrance tightly closed, unable to see the scene inside, making people more imaginative.

In the darkness of the night, He Yuncheng had been standing outside his tent for a long time.

He came to find Han Mao tonight to discuss the matter of grain and fodder. When he arrived, Han Mao said he was busy with something and asked him to wait a moment. That moment had turned into an hour.

And what Han Mao meant by being busy was whiling away the time with an actor.

That actor was disguised as a soldier and had followed the Han family army all the way from Fengdu City.

And not only this one. Han Mao was known for his promiscuity in Fengdu City, with no preference for what he indulged in. One actor was far from enough for his pleasure.

He hid dozens and still wasn’t satisfied, only regretting that he couldn’t hide a few more girls to bring along. The journey was long and truly unbearable.

Outside the tent was desolate and bleak, while inside, the young actor sang for a long time, his voice truly tired. He cautiously glanced at Han Mao, but the other was leisurely and contentedly leaning against his chair, showing no intention of letting him stop.

He could only bite the bullet and continue to sing, and without paying attention, he went completely off-key, cracking his voice.

Han Mao frowned and threw the teacup in his hand.

The hard porcelain struck his forehead, instantly causing swelling and pain. The inexperienced young actor didn’t dare to say anything about the pain, kneeling on the ground and repeatedly begging for mercy, “General, spare me! General, spare me!”

Han Mao impatiently twisted his neck, “What did you do wrong?”

The other person tremblingly said, “This humble one’s skills are lacking, spoiling the General’s enjoyment…”

Han Mao arrogantly sneered, “So you know you spoiled my enjoyment? Didn’t the boss teach you how you should serve this general when you came? Letting you in for over an hour, and all you know how to do is stand there and sing opera? What? Are you waiting for this general to serve you?”

“No…” The young actor lowered his head, the corners of his eyes red with suppressed tears, and mustered the courage to explain, “I already told my master, I only want to sing opera properly, I don’t do those kinds of things…”

Han Mao looked at him inexplicably, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, stood up, walked closer, and kicked him hard in the chest.

The thin young actor was kicked far away, his face deathly pale, clutching his chest, the pain making it almost impossible to breathe.

Han Mao cursed, “One after another, acting all high and mighty in front of me. He relies on his status, what are you? You lowly thing, it’s because your ancestors accumulated virtue that you have the chance to serve this general, understand? Want to see me burn down the opera house, just say so!”

“Don’t! Don’t… General, please calm your anger, this humble one wouldn’t dare…”

He crawled to Han Mao’s feet, his slender white fingers tremblingly undoing his belt.

His body ached and was numb, and tears fell silently. His life was like a weed, who cared whether he was willing or not?

The tent couldn’t block the unbearable sounds. Outside, the Han family soldiers on night watch turned a deaf ear.

He Yuncheng stood in the wind, his calm eyes merging with the darkness of the night.

He looked like he could explode at any moment, but he was indeed patiently waiting.

And further away, under the shadows of the trees, someone watched his back with heartache, and after a while, sighed softly, not disturbing him, and left silently.

Han Mao tormented the young actor until the second half of the night. After dawn, the tent was a mess.

Han Mao got out of bed to pick up the clothes on the ground. The young actor, half-dead from his abuse, had already left.

He tidied himself up and went out. The sun hadn’t yet risen, the morning light was gray, the wind rustled, and outside the tent, the person who had come to visit last night was still waiting.

Seeing He Yuncheng, he couldn’t suppress his smug smile.

“General He?” He slapped his forehead, feigning guilt, “I’m so sorry, I really didn’t have time to spare last night, I forgot about you, General. You’ve been waiting all night?”

He Yuncheng’s bloodshot eyes coldly looked at him, “General Han, is it convenient to talk now?”

Han Mao looked up at the sky, feigning difficulty, “General He, you see, the sky is already bright, the situation at the border is urgent, our journey is important. If there’s anything to say, let’s talk tonight.”

He patted He Yuncheng’s shoulder, taking advantage of his older age and adopting the attitude of an elder.

After speaking, he didn’t give He Yuncheng a chance to speak again, and left, urging his subordinates, “Everyone! Speed up! Don’t delay!”

“Yes!”

Lin Shuangxu finished tidying his clothes and came out of the tent, running right into He Yuncheng who was coming towards him.

His exhaustion was visible to the naked eye. They both knew what happened, Lin Shuangxu didn’t ask anything.

He Yuncheng smiled brightly and took the initiative to say, “Good morning, how did you sleep last night?”

Lin Shuangxu smiled back at him, his eyes gentle.

“Pretty good.”

He Yuncheng walked up to him, walking side by side with him, and said to him calmly, “We’ve passed most of the journey, in a few more days, we’ll be at the border.”

“Mm.” Lin Shuangxu echoed, “Just a few days, we can get through anything. Don’t worry too much.”

He Yuncheng nodded, the two comforted each other, and also comforted themselves.

He Yuncheng had to hide the anxiety in his heart. He was a general, and in any situation, he couldn’t lose his composure first. Otherwise, even the slightest ripple in his heart would be a huge wave to his subordinates.

The He family army’s rations were reduced by 30% per person today.

Lord Guo directly instructed the cooks to reduce it. There was no other way now. Coming to He Yuncheng to discuss it would only add to his troubles.

One meal was barely enough to fill their stomachs, it couldn’t be called full, but not a single one of the tens of thousands of soldiers complained.

The army continued to advance. As they approached the northern border, the thin signs of spring dissipated again.

This was Lin Shuangxu’s first time heading north. He had only seen it in books before, the extreme cold of the north, even in midsummer, the snow on the mountaintops never melted.

Now he truly experienced the hardship of marching and guarding the border, and apart from feeling sorrowful, all he felt was admiration for the world.

Different from the exquisite prosperity of Fengdu City, here were white mountains and black waters, boundless and magnificent. The sky was a transparent, deep blue, and eagles used their wings to measure the breadth of freedom. The frozen land was absorbing nourishment in its slumber, waiting for a spring breeze to blow, and it would use everything it had to nurture life, producing golden rice to feed the entire Bei Sheng land.

How could they give such a country to others with their own hands?

His admiration was written on his face, and He Yuncheng saw it.

“Do you like it here?” He Yuncheng asked him.

“Mm.” Lin Shuangxu nodded, “I like it.”

He Yuncheng smiled, “Then after the war is over, and the border is peaceful, we won’t live in Fengdu City anymore. I’ll elope with you here.”

Lin Shuangxu wanted to scold him not to talk nonsense, but seeing his sincere expression, he couldn’t bear to spoil his mood.

He pretended not to hear and turned his face to the side.

He Yuncheng didn’t speak loudly, only the people nearby could hear him.

No one expressed surprise.

If they had to say anything, it would be – why elope? Who’s stopping you?

The team continued to advance, and Lin Shuangxu didn’t talk to He Yuncheng anymore.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of others hearing something, but that he could feel that although He Yuncheng was acting as usual, he was actually very tired.

Not the exhaustion of being physically drained, but the exhaustion from having to go against his own nature to do those things he had no choice but to do. That kind of suppression and powerlessness was making him mentally and physically exhausted.

Across the winding line, Lin Shuangxu narrowed his eyes and looked at Han Mao.

Whether it was because his gaze was too direct and Han Mao noticed, or it was just a coincidence that the other person turned his head.

Their gazes met, and neither flinched.

In close combat, Han Mao made his provocation obvious.

Grain and fodder weren’t impossible to give.

But it was useless for Guo Yao to beg him, and it was useless for He Yuncheng to beg him.

He had said, he was waiting for Lin Shuangxu to take the initiative to come to him.

Letting He Yuncheng stand all night wasn’t much of an insult.

Making the beloved of General He come to him willingly, that was called venting his anger.

–

Last night, Han Mao deliberately made things difficult for He Yuncheng, which was within He Yuncheng’s expectations.

Going to find him again tonight might not be smooth either, and He Yuncheng still made good mental preparations.

But he didn’t expect that Han Mao wouldn’t even see him.

Outside the military tent, the Han family soldiers guarding stopped He Yuncheng, “General Han is not available right now.”

Since he was intentionally making things difficult, there was no point for He Yuncheng to ask the reason. He stared at the tightly closed tent with a grim expression, took a step back, and stood still.

The soldier seemed to have been instructed, deliberately saying it for him to hear. He Yuncheng didn’t ask anything, and the soldier took the initiative to say to him, “The General has a distinguished guest.”

The sentence was wrapped in the night sky, drilling into the military tent through the cracks.

Inside the tent, the candlelight flickered slightly, black and white pieces intertwined on the chessboard, the game not yet decided.

Han Mao wasn’t very focused when holding the pieces, taking advantage of the light, he was eyeing Lin Shuangxu intently.

Watching his face become even more beautiful under the light, his slender white fingertips lightly tapping the chessboard, his expression not the least bit flirtatious, yet it made people’s hearts itch unbearably.

He had played with actors and male prostitutes a lot in the past, but mostly it was just for novelty, and he never really felt that there was much fun between men.

Facing Lin Shuangxu, it was the first time he had felt desire, and also had other thoughts.

Whether he was truly attracted to him, or simply wanted to disgust He Yuncheng, it didn’t matter.

He was aloof, so he wanted to see him loose, he was proud, so he wanted to make him submit.

Believing himself to be a superior, when he saw something good, he always wanted to possess it.

“General Han.”

Lin Shuangxu sat across from him, looking at him calmly, seeing that he hadn’t moved a piece for a long time, he reminded him, “It’s your turn.”

Han Mao smiled, holding a black piece in his hand, and said to him, “Where do you want me to put this piece? You say, I’ll listen to you.”

A veteran of pleasure houses, flirting words came easily to him.

But clearly, these greasy tricks of his had no effect on Lin Shuangxu.

“Since it’s a gambling game, there’s no need to give me a handicap, General. Please play as you like, I may not lose.”

He came to find Han Mao tonight to ask him to release grain to the He family army. Han Mao was very happy and didn’t deliberately obstruct him, only asking him to play a game of chess with him. If he won, he would grant his request.

While playing chess, Han Mao deliberately slowed down, and while playing, he used his experiences from pleasure houses to flirt with Lin Shuangxu.

He enjoyed the pleasure of taking what others loved in this process, while repeatedly delaying time, wanting to wait for someone to catch them in the act, blocking them in the tent.

Let him guess, did General He care more about the lives of his hundreds of thousands of soldiers, or did he care more about his own dignity as a man?

Would he rush in angrily, or would he endure humiliation, watching his beloved sell his charm to get a bite to eat for him?

Han Mao looked into Lin Shuangxu’s eyes, placed the chess piece on the chessboard, and asked him, “If He Yuncheng knew that you came to me behind his back, and accompanied me to play chess here, how would he feel? Would he be extremely angry?”

Lin Shuangxu calmly placed a white piece down and said, “It’s my business to find General Han, why should others interfere? Besides, it’s just playing chess, why be angry?”

These words were very pleasing to the ear, and Han Mao liked to hear them.

He stared at Lin Shuangxu’s faint smile with fascination, and sighed, “Young Master Shuangxu really knows how to coax people. I know, you’re just being polite. We’ve only known each other for a few days, how could I be as close to you as He Yuncheng is?”

Lin Shuangxu reached into the chess box to feel for a piece, listening to his strange and ambiguous words, without responding.

Han Mao took that as tacit agreement.

He glanced in the direction of the door. He Yuncheng had already arrived outside, and he had naturally heard the soldier’s words earlier.

Lin Shuangxu should have heard it too, but he was under someone else’s roof, and he couldn’t afford to protect He Yuncheng’s pathetic self-esteem right now.

When asking for help, you have to have the attitude of asking for help.

That was what Han Mao wanted.

The chess game became clearer, and Lin Shuangxu was gaining the upper hand, on the verge of winning.

Han Mao didn’t care about the result at all. No matter how good Lin Shuangxu’s chess skills were, he was going to let him win this game.

The beauty had finally opened his mouth once, how could he refuse?

He just wanted to let the beauty know that he was more reliable than He Yuncheng, and more understanding than He Yuncheng.

His fingers touched seemingly unintentionally, Han Mao took advantage of the placement of the piece, greedily brushing across the back of Lin Shuangxu’s hand.

The skin was cool and delicate, making people want to cherish it.

And Lin Shuangxu didn’t avoid the physical contact, nor did he show disgust.

This made Han Mao even more excited.

“Your hands are so cold.” He said to Lin Shuangxu.

His voice wasn’t loud, just enough to be heard outside the tent, for the person outside to hear clearly.

Lin Shuangxu was still smiling, holding a white piece in his hand, looking at him, not placing it down for a long time.

Han Mao understood his smile at this moment to be a flirtatious exchange, and said to him, “If you place this piece, you’ll win. Don’t worry, I will definitely do what I promised.”

He leaned forward slightly, crossing the line and getting closer to Lin Shuangxu.

The next sentence wasn’t deliberately said for He Yuncheng outside the door to hear, it truly came from his heart.

“You’re very charming, Lin Shuangxu.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the beauty he praised threw the chess piece in his hand.

It wasn’t dropped onto the chessboard, but smashed into his eyes.

Caught off guard, the fragile whites of his eyes were struck by the mutton-fat jade, instantly becoming congested and swollen, sour and painful.

Han Mao screamed, covering his left eye that was tearing up, and then he heard a crash, the chessboard being overturned by Lin Shuangxu.

Black and white pieces scattered and rolled, a mess.

“Han Mao, has my He family been too lenient with you?”