Chapter 44: Love at First Sight
Rong Feijun and Wulanbaer had only fainted from exhaustion and were not seriously injured. After a night’s rest, they were fine. Rong Feijun’s condition was a little more serious; his entire arm was scraped, and his hands were temporarily immobile, but fortunately, no bones were broken.
After he woke up, Qi Xiao and Fu Yunzhi came to see him. The three of them gathered to discuss and exchange intelligence, then formulated a general plan. Rong Feijun would return to the capital to defend it, while Qi Xiao, with Fu Yunzhi and Xiao Zijun, would go south to resist the attack from Junce.
Junce had already captured Lianzhou and would surely head south towards the capital next. As the General of the South, Qi Xiao needed to intercept and defeat them. Meanwhile, Rong Feijun would guard the capital against Sheng Luo. Sheng Luo and the Langxuan capital were separated only by a forest. If he wasn’t mistaken, Sheng Luo would definitely take advantage of Langxuan’s forces being diverted by Junce to attack the capital.
“All the power in the south has been transferred to my name,” Qi Xiao said, pointing to the map spread out on the table. “But the troops in the other states cannot be mobilized at will. I’m afraid these states won’t be able to resist if the enemy attacks. In that case, the capital will only have the imperial guards and the various garrisons. If Sheng Luo attacks with all its might, the capital will not be able to hold.”
“I can borrow troops from our vassal states, like Guchi,” Rong Feijun said.
“If a war breaks out, what will be the King of Shahan’s attitude?” Fu Yunzhi asked.
Rong Feijun fell silent.
He will probably remain aloof, as usual…
“Why don’t you cooperate with the King of Shahan, Your Majesty?” Qi Xiao also asked.
After a moment of thought, Rong Feijun said, “I will talk to him before we leave tonight.”
After Qi Xiao and Fu Yunzhi left, he slightly moved his arm, which was tightly wrapped in bandages.
It still hurt a little.
Mo Yan, who had been standing behind him all this time, suddenly knelt with a thud.
“Your Majesty! This subject has failed in his duty! I have let you be injured, and my crime is worthy of ten thousand deaths!”
“It’s fine. Get up,” Rong Feijun said, rubbing his throbbing temples.
“Your Majesty! This subject… this subject… is useless!” Mo Yan’s face was filled with pain and anger, and he wished he could stab himself. He should never have let the Emperor leave Li City alone with the King of Shahan!
Rong Feijun reached out and grasped his shoulder, but he couldn’t get him to stand up.
“Mo Yan, my hand is injured. Do you want the wound to reopen?”
Hearing this, Mo Yan was startled and immediately stood up.
“It has nothing to do with you,” Rong Feijun said, patting his shoulder. “It was my own carelessness. It’s not your fault, don’t blame yourself. If you truly feel guilty, just do your duty well in the future.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then go and inform the King of Shahan that I want to talk to him alone tonight.”
“Alone?” Mo Yan felt a sense of unease. “Doesn’t Your Majesty think you are putting too much trust in that King of Shahan?”
“I think the King of Shahan is putting too much trust in me as well,” Rong Feijun smiled.
“Your Majesty,” Mo Yan said anxiously, “do not be deceived by the King of Shahan’s sweet words! Who knows if he isn’t a wolf with ambitions, with ill intentions towards Langxuan? What if he also covets this world…”
“Alright, alright, I know what I’m doing. Go and inform him.”
Rong Feijun looked at the map still spread out on the desk, thinking, I haven’t seen Wulanbaer since that day in the Sacred Forest. I wonder what he’s doing now…
If Langxuan really goes to war with Junce and Sheng Luo, what will he do?
After leaving Rong Feijun’s room, Mo Yan couldn’t help but lean against the wall, panting heavily, his hands clenched into fists…
King of Shahan…
Although the days in the desert were long, the night would eventually come. Before Mo Yan had a chance to inform Wulanbaer, he had already taken the initiative to invite Rong Feijun to dine with him. According to the servant who delivered the message, Wulanbaer had gone hunting that day and had caught a wild wolf, and he wanted to share this victory with him.
Rong Feijun shook his head. Just the other day, he was so exhausted from the giant snake that he was paralyzed in bed, and today he had gone hunting.
“Is the King of Shahan inside?” Rong Feijun asked, puzzled, as Wulanbaer’s deputy led him to a high tower some distance from the palace. He had never been to this tower before. It was said to be the sacred tower used by the Shahan priests for stargazing and divination.
“Yes.”
Dining in the sacred tower? Although he was puzzled, he still walked up the steps one by one. The deputy did not follow, only standing guard at his post.
When he reached the highest platform, he saw a table laden with a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast. Not only was there wolf leg, but also other desert delicacies, and even rare green vegetables.
The platform was open to the air, with no obstructions so that the priests could see the stars clearly. With a slight tilt of the head, one could see the night sky and the galaxy. Wulanbaer stood by the table, his short hair blowing in the breeze.
“King of Shahan.”
“We’ve been through life and death together. Doesn’t using honorifics seem a bit distant? Why don’t we call each other by our names? Is that alright, Feijun?”
A name that hadn’t been called in many years slipped from Wulanbaer’s lips. Rong Feijun’s heart was moved, and he didn’t know how to react.
After a long time, he awkwardly smoothed his hair. “The view here is very nice. I didn’t expect you to have such taste.”
Using “you” instead of “King of Shahan,” Wulanbaer smiled. “All the taste I have in my life has been used for tonight.”
Rong Feijun: “…”
Hmm?
“I hunted this wolf for you,” Wulanbaer said, pointing to the wolf leg on the table. “I hope it brings good luck.” After a pause, he walked closer to Rong Feijun and said softly, “I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”
Before his voice had even faded, the sky lit up.
Bang—
Bang bang—
Rong Feijun turned his head and saw many brilliant “flowers” blooming in the dark ink of the sky. Clusters of fireworks rose high into the air, proudly displaying their magnificence, then slowly fell like meteors, reluctant to leave. One after another, a hundred flowers bloomed, dyeing half the sky in a rainbow of colors. The fireworks were so brilliant, so colorful, that they made one completely forget the silence and monotony of the night sky.
“Do you remember?” Wulanbaer said. “I once said I wished you could find a good person who could share everything with you. Now I’ve changed my mind. I want to be that person. I want to bear all your unhappiness and difficulties for you.”
“I’ve fallen in love with you. You might think love at first sight is ridiculous, that I’m just flattering you, since we’ve only known each other for less than two months. But in the past twenty-seven years, I have never felt this way. I have decided my entire life in these two months, because these two months have been more worthwhile than the past twenty-seven years. You might think this isn’t liking, let alone love, but I will never have such strong feelings for anyone else, so I decided to try and fight for it.”
“When we met the giant snake, when you fell off the cliff, I thought that even if I lost my life, I had to protect you. No one has ever made me so reckless, more important than my life, than my dignity. From that moment on, I knew that it had to be you.”
Rong Feijun was so shocked he couldn’t speak, staring blankly at Wulanbaer’s serious eyes.
This is… too sudden.
“You want the world, and I want you. Give yourself to me, and I will give you the world. You can have Shahan.” Wulanbaer took out a bracelet woven from vines and wolf teeth and gently wrapped it around Rong Feijun’s hand. “This is a family heirloom. If you wear it, you are my person.”
“However, I don’t want our relationship to be built on interests. If you reject me, Shahan will still be yours, and I will still help you seize the world. It won’t affect anything. Shahan becoming a vassal of Langxuan will definitely be better than it is now. I am confident of this. We don’t need an intimate relationship; interests can drive our cooperation.”
Wulanbaer tied a knot on the bracelet. “Alright. If you don’t like me, then take off this bracelet and leave. I promise I will only talk about cooperation in the future and will not pester you any more. I will also never mention what happened today. But I will still protect you and like you. This is a promise.”
Rong Feijun looked at the old, worn bracelet. For some reason, it felt very, very heavy.
His mind was telling him he should take off the bracelet and leave, but his hands wouldn’t move. He didn’t want to take it off, and he didn’t want to leave.
It was silent all around, with only the faint sound of fireworks. Wulanbaer waited for a long time. Seeing that Rong Feijun was doing nothing, just standing there awkwardly, he finally couldn’t help but laugh loudly and pull him into his arms.
“Feijun, you are mine.”
The people of Shahan were sturdily built. Rong Feijun only came up to his chest and could hear his steady heartbeat.
Wulanbaer had always been an unruly person who never followed any rules. This was the only time he had compromised with someone, respecting their opinion. And now that he had him, he naturally no longer needed to be restrained or worry about anything. He held Rong Feijun’s waist with one hand, pinched his chin with the other, and kissed him roughly.
He moved his hand to the back of Rong Feijun’s head and pressed down firmly, deepening the kiss.
Rong Feijun felt that his whole body was filled with the scent of this man. Just one kiss had made him lose his defenses. He clung to Wulanbaer, finding it hard to even breathe.
“It hurts…” Rong Feijun grabbed his shoulders, his nails digging into his flesh. But Wulanbaer didn’t stop at all, his tongue wildly conquering Rong Feijun’s mouth, reminding him of a starving wolf.
By the time Wulanbaer was finally willing to end the kiss, Rong Feijun was already dizzy and out of breath, leaning weakly against him.
Wulanbaer swept him up into his arms. “Let’s go! Let’s go to the shrine and let Tataliya be our witness!”
The rain of fireworks had finally ended, but for the two inside the sacred tower, it had just begun. A beautiful beginning would surely be a beautiful process and ending…
