Chapter 41: I Like You
All the soldiers in the camp were in an uproar, looking at the phoenix in the firelight in the sky, both excited and in disbelief. Some even wanted to kneel and worship.
The phoenix arrogantly spread its wings and let out a long cry, then tilted its head and flew away.
Zhao Linxu was stunned for a moment, then, realizing something, he cursed “Fuck,” leaped onto Yuefeng, and chased after the phoenix.
Damn it, the one up there is his wife, Li Jianyu, right?
“Where are you going?” Zhao Zhanqi stopped Zhao Linxu.
Zhao Linxu was in a hurry to catch up with the phoenix, and his mind was in a complete mess. So, in his haste, his brain short-circuited, and he replied, “My big bird flew away!”
Ah…?
Caught off guard by the dirty joke, Zhao Zhanqi was petrified on the spot.
Zhao Linxu pulled on his reins and galloped wildly, leaving the camp and chasing after the firelight in the sky on the sandy ground, leaving a string of hoofprints that were quickly covered by the wind, sand, and snow.
Fortunately, the desert was vast, with only the sky and the earth in sight, so it was not difficult to follow.
Swoosh—
The firelight ahead suddenly stopped, then fell from the sky and disappeared.
When Zhao Linxu finally caught up, he saw Dabao huddled on the sandy ground, its wings spread out to protect the completely naked Li Jianyu.
Huh?
Zhao Linxu raised an eyebrow. So Dabao had come along too?
It seemed that Li Jianyu had somehow transformed into a phoenix and had now turned back into a human, and the firelight just now had attracted Dabao.
Zhao Linxu went forward, lifted Li Jianyu out, and helped him put on his own cloak.
Dabao simply gathered both of them under its wings.
Li Jianyu’s body was very hot, and Dabao’s wings were even hotter. But now, in the winter desert, Zhao Linxu actually found it quite comfortable.
“Mmm…”
After a while, Li Jianyu slowly woke up in Zhao Linxu’s arms.
Li Jianyu opened his eyes and saw a darkness before him, as if something were covering him, and he was leaning against Zhao Linxu’s chest, held tightly by him.
“Zhao Linxu?”
“You’re awake.” Zhao Linxu smiled, tightened the cloak on Li Jianyu, and said, “What happened?”
Li Jianyu looked around, a little confused as to why he was in the desert, being protected by Dabao and Zhao Linxu.
“I… was attacked. Yes, attacked.”
Li Jianyu rubbed his temples and recounted the story.
“I see.” Zhao Linxu frowned slightly. “With such a big fire in the tent, that assassin should have been burned to ashes.”
It was a pity. He couldn’t capture him alive for questioning.
“Sorry. I knew what I was doing at that time, but it was very chaotic, and I couldn’t control my body, so I flew here uncontrollably.”
“It’s no matter. It’s good that you’re alright.” Zhao Linxu sighed, rubbing Li Jianyu’s hand. “I was negligent this time. I said I would protect you, and now I’ve let you encounter such a thing.”
Li Jianyu blinked. “Is that so? Then you should be punished.”
“How should I be punished?” Zhao Linxu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Can you ‘ying’ for me?”
[T/N: ying: This is an onomatopoeia for a soft, whimpering, or coquettish sound. It’s often used in a playful or teasing way in modern Chinese internet culture.]
“…”
Li Jianyu raised an eyebrow at Zhao Linxu.
Zhao Linxu held Li Jianyu, brewed for a moment, and let out a low, muffled hum.
Li Jianyu was stunned.
The sound, coming from his nasal cavity, was mixed with a pant and a hint of suppression. It made Li Jianyu’s face turn red with a poof. His body was already hot, but now it felt like it was about to boil. His whole body was tingling.
“Are you satisfied?” Zhao Linxu saw Li Jianyu’s reaction, raised an eyebrow slightly, and found it extremely cute. He had been a little reserved at first, but now, seeing that he had successfully teased him, his heart instantly set sail.
Zhao Linxu couldn’t help it. He lowered his head and bit Li Jianyu’s hot earlobe.
“Are… are you a dog…”
“Nonsense.” Zhao Linxu brought Li Jianyu’s hand to his mouth, bit it, and smiled. “I belong to you.”
Li Jianyu pulled his hand back like lightning.
Damn it!
“D-Dabao is still here!” Li Jianyu felt a wave of shame. He could originally communicate with phoenixes. Now that he could turn into one himself, this wasn’t being lovey-dovey in front of a pet, but the shame of being watched by his own kind!
“Dabao doesn’t care about us,” Zhao Linxu said seriously. “Besides, Dabao is also an adult bird. He even has a child.”
Dabao had long since lowered its head and fallen asleep while waiting for Li Jianyu to wake up, letting the two of them mess around under its wing.
“Don’t fool around.” Li Jianyu wanted to break free from Zhao Linxu’s embrace, but he was held even tighter.
At this moment, Li Jianyu was only wearing Zhao Linxu’s cloak, which was loose and hung down to his knees, solving the problem of him not wearing anything underneath. But this attire looked very… alluring.
Zhao Linxu’s gaze moved away from those two slender, white legs. He pinched Li Jianyu’s chin and kissed those rosy, full lips.
“Mmph…?”
Previously, Zhao Linxu and Li Jianyu had finally been honest with each other, but after that, they had been busy traveling, and many things had happened. The two of them had not had a good talk or been intimate.
The kiss in Luoye Forest had been full of excitement and was too rushed. But Li Jianyu felt that this kiss was long, gentle, like the sweet nothings Zhao Linxu was whispering to him.
Lips and teeth intertwined, breaths mingling.
After the long kiss finally ended, Li Jianyu stared blankly at Zhao Linxu.
Zhao Linxu curled his fingers and wiped the moisture from Li Jianyu’s lips, smiling. “Now, you are my person.”
Li Jianyu’s eyes widened.
“Become my Empress, and I will also become your Emperor.” Zhao Linxu rested his head on Li Jianyu’s shoulder and said hoarsely, “I like you. You like me too, right?”
Li Jianyu nodded with a very, very small arc.
Even so, Zhao Linxu was very satisfied. He turned his head and kissed Li Jianyu’s red earlobe.
“It’s rare to get out of the camp. Shall we be lazy for a while?”
“Right here?”
“I’ll take you somewhere.” Zhao Linxu pulled Li Jianyu out from under Dabao’s wing. Dabao twisted its neck and flew away. The two of them then got on a horse and headed for the place Zhao Linxu had mentioned.
The desert was monotonous, with only the snow-covered sand and the starry night sky in sight. But it was precisely because of this that it was magnificent.
The place Zhao Linxu mentioned was, strictly speaking, discovered because of Li Jianyu. He had found an oasis not far away while chasing after him just now.
The oases in the desert were always very beautiful.
After Zhao Linxu led Li Jianyu through the grass and into it, what came into view were various kinds of trees and woods that were not usually seen.
The sound of flowing water in his ear was quite loud. Li Jianyu asked, “Is there a river here?”
A lake should not have such a gurgling sound. Even without seeing any water source, he could hear it from a great distance.
“Probably. Let’s go and find it.”
After walking for a moment, Zhao Linxu suddenly pulled Li Jianyu and said in a deliberately low voice, “Get down.”
Li Jianyu blinked.
What was wrong?
Zhao Linxu and Li Jianyu crouched down and slowly moved forward behind the grass. Zhao Linxu slightly pushed aside a few leaves, and Li Jianyu saw three people sitting around a fire not far away, grilling meat and warming themselves. Two men and one woman.
What surprised Li Jianyu was that one of the men was the one who had tried to assassinate him before! The white fur on the man’s body and his tall frame were too obvious, while the other two were no different from ordinary people.
He wasn’t dead?
How was that possible!
Li Jianyu gestured to Zhao Linxu, and Zhao Linxu understood. He was also a little in disbelief.
With such a big fire, was that person an immortal?
But now it was certain that the people before them were not good. They were either their enemies or people from the Great Xi’s army.
Now, the Great Xi’s army, in collusion with the Taotie, was camped deep in the desert, waiting to confront them. It was not strange if they sent a few assassins to probe beforehand.
“With such a big fire, if it weren’t for us helping you, you would have died long ago. So what if you have Taotie blood? In the end, you still have to rely on us,” the woman said, handing a skewer of grilled meat to the assassin. “Is it really okay for us to just go back like this?”
“Of course it’s okay,” the assassin said, taking a bite of the meat. “Although we didn’t succeed in killing Zhao Linxu, we now have such precious intelligence. That’s a phoenix. There’s a phoenix in Zhao Linxu’s tent. General Rong will surely look at us in a new light!”
Li Jianyu and Zhao Linxu looked at each other.
General Rong, Rong Qing?
This was a general of Feng Juheng of the Great Xi. According to Xu Zheng, he was one of Feng Juheng’s minions in his evil deeds, and the commander-in-chief of this expedition.
It seemed they were indeed assassins sent by the Great Xi, and their target was Zhao Linxu.
But by a stroke of bad luck, Zhao Linxu was not in the tent that night, and they had not expected Li Jianyu to be there. They had originally wanted to kill Li Jianyu to silence him, but by a twist of fate, they had made him completely awaken the phoenix blood in his body.
Zhao Linxu looked at the three of them, especially the assassin who had tried to harm Li Jianyu, and squinted slightly.
It was just three people. He could handle them.
But Li Jianyu was by his side now, and Zhao Linxu didn’t want to take any risks. If something unexpected happened and Li Jianyu was hurt, it would not be worth it.
“Do you want to take them back for questioning?”
“Forget it,” Zhao Linxu shook his head. “Let’s go back and call for people to catch them.”
“Then what if they run away while we’re on our way back?” Li Jianyu frowned. “Then we’ll have missed a very important clue and a chance to understand the situation within the Great Xi’s army. These three shouldn’t be difficult for you, right? You don’t have to worry about me.”
Zhao Linxu was still considering.
Li Jianyu said, “I don’t want to be a burden to you. I can also handle the situation if something happens. I can now control my phoenix blood a little. It’s not a problem to create some fire to hurt people.”
“That’s true.” Zhao Linxu smiled and rubbed Li Jianyu’s head. “My Little Carp is so amazing. How could he be a burden to me?”
Zhao Linxu had Li Jianyu hide behind the grass, while he himself rushed out with lightning speed and swung his long whip straight at the assassin’s back. After all, the Taotie’s fighting strength was high, and Zhao Linxu didn’t want to waste his energy fighting with him.
“Ah…!”
The man was caught off guard by Zhao Linxu’s move and couldn’t dodge in time. He was knocked unconscious by the iron whip and collapsed.
Without any delay, Zhao Linxu immediately rushed towards the remaining man and woman.
But what happened next refreshed Li Jianyu’s worldview. He stood to the side and saw it clearly. When the two of them saw Zhao Linxu’s whip about to hit them, they leaped up and then sank into the ground.
Literally.
The man and woman’s feet sank into the ground, then their waists, their chests, and finally, their heads. Their entire bodies just disappeared into the ground.
Fuck??
