The breath between the pillows was scorching.

Yan Qi turned his head slightly, Huo Ling’s words still ringing in his ears.

“Xiao Qi… help me.”

He didn’t understand what kind of ‘help’ Huo Ling meant, but steeled himself to ask softly, “How… how can I help?”

Huo Ling, swollen with restraint, bent down and found the boy’s hand beneath the quilt, gently pulling it toward him.

When their skin touched, Yan Qi gasped sharply, his eyes widening in shock. Blushing fiercely, he covered his mouth with his other hand, letting Huo Ling guide his movements.

He dared not dwell on what was unfolding beneath the quilt.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

After two rounds, it took two cloths to clean up. Huo Ling snapped out of his dazed state, his face flushing hot. He pulled back the quilt slightly to air out the room.

“I’ll fetch some water. We should wash before sleeping.”

After Huo Ling left, Yan Qi remained in the same position for a long while before finally shifting his legs and waist slightly. His entire body felt sore.

So this was how married couples handled matters in bed. He raised his hand to rub his face, then remembered what had been on his palms moments ago and awkwardly lowered it again.

Huo Ling soon returned with a bucket of water, instructing the ger to wash his hands.

Yan Qi squatted on the floor, scrubbing his hands a few times. When he stood up, he saw Huo Ling bent over, holding the lamp, meticulously inspecting the bedding. He ran his hands over every surface before finally stopping.

It was their first time doing such a thing, and both seemed reluctant to look at each other. Yet when they climbed back into bed, they unconsciously shared only one quilt, pushing the other temporarily against the wall.

Though it wasn’t the real thing, Huo Ling had at least had his fill. Even as he closed his eyes, holding his husband close, the corners of his mouth turned up.

Yan Qi was genuinely exhausted—both from nervousness and sore wrists—and soon fell into a deep sleep.

At daybreak, Huo Ling was the first to open his eyes.

He’d slept soundly through the night, without a single dream. Trying to roll over, he found the other corner of the quilt pinned down by Yan Qi.

The young man hadn’t woken yet, lying sideways with his eyes closed. Perhaps having absorbed some of Huo Ling’s warmth, his cheeks were unusually rosy.

Huo Ling felt a surge of happiness. Leaning closer, he planted a kiss on the ger’s face. It was the first time he’d ever done such a thing, and he’d been very gentle. Unexpectedly, it still woke him.

“…Is it morning already?”

People are always a bit sluggish when they first wake up. Yan Qi was awake now, but he didn’t seem to notice what Huo Ling had just done. He rubbed his eyes, trying to sit up.

“I need to make some provisions for you today. I got up early and boiled some water. We can all have breakfast together when your sister-in-law, brother, and Yingzi wake up.”

Huo Ling glanced at the sky. It was likely only the middle of the second hour of the morning; the moon probably still cast its shadow across the heavens. He felt a pang of regret for waking the boy.

“It’s still early. Sleep a little longer.”

“You can sleep. Once I open my eyes, I can’t get back to sleep.”

“Then I’ll get up with you.”

With his husband already awake, lingering alone in bed felt pointless.

They each dressed, slipped on their shoes, and stepped outside.

Though the kitchen adjoined the bedroom, a faint chill still seeped in when they opened the door. Listening intently to ensure Huo Feng’s family hadn’t stirred, they moved with hushed care.

They drew water for washing, transferred it to a clay pot, and set it over the low stove to warm. Yan Qi scooped two bowls of corn grits to cook porridge for breakfast.

Corn was cheap and a staple for farm families.

During his few days at the Huo household, he’d figured out their usual breakfast routine: mostly one bowl of congee per person, eaten with pickled vegetables. It was flavorful and filling.

They also boiled two eggs. Originally, there was only one, reserved for Huo Ying. Now that Yan Qi had arrived, they added another, saying he needed to build his strength.

Previously, Ye Suping had always boiled the eggs. When it was Yan Qi’s turn, he felt awkward taking an extra one for himself. The weather hadn’t warmed yet, and the hens weren’t laying many eggs. With eggs becoming more expensive, one likely costs more than two or three wen.

Huo Ling happened to pass by and saw him picking only one egg, washing it, and putting it in the pot. She told him to add another.

“No need to feel awkward. Though the eggs come from the hens my sister-in-law raises, our household also contributes to the communal fund.”

“Truthfully, we don’t need to eat them daily. Ying’er is still growing; whether I eat them or not makes little difference.”

“How could it be the same? We rarely have meat at home. If we can’t even have eggs, when will you ever gain some weight?”

Huo Ling decided to take matters into his own hands, adding another egg to the steamer basket. By the time the porridge below was cooked, the egg above had steamed to perfection.

Dager, sleeping alone in the woodshed, had also woken early. Hearing his master leave, he strolled out slowly, shook off his fur, and stretched lazily.

Huo Ling rinsed his water bowl and broke off a few cornmeal buns into his food bowl.

“Why are you two up so early?”

Huo Feng was the first to emerge, his belt already fastened. Yawning so wide, tears welled in his eyes, he asked suspiciously, “If I remember correctly, isn’t the second son supposed to head up the mountain tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow. You don’t like it when I work hard?”

Huo Feng let out a disapproving “tsk,” circled around him and Yan Qi to offer a perfunctory “Good morning,” then went to squat by the doorway to wash up.

Yan Qi realized one reason the Huo household felt so comfortably familiar was this: the brothers weren’t too far apart in age, making their interactions easygoing. Huo Ling, being the younger brother, often acted without much regard for seniority.

Thus, even after each had married, their existing closeness remained unchanged.

With their bellies full, the kitchen’s aroma shifted from porridge to medicine, its bitter scent fading far away.

Huo Ling held out a piece of malt sugar as the ger drank his medicine. After he finished, he quickly offered the candy. Yan Qi placed it on his tongue—the intense sweetness overpowered the complex sour and bitter flavors, and his furrowed brow soon relaxed.

“Are you coming with me to Shuangjing Village?”

Huo Ling packed his knapsack, filling the pouch he’d received from the ger last night with copper coins. He fastened it directly to his belt, ensuring it would catch anyone’s eye the moment they approached.

“I’m borrowing the village chief’s oxcart to haul wood. You can ride along and rest.”

Yan Qi hesitated for a moment before replying, “I’d rather stay home and work.”

Besides preparing provisions for Huo Ling, he also wanted to hurry and cut out a new set of undergarments. Last night while washing his hands, he’d examined his clothes carefully—thankfully, they hadn’t gotten soiled.

Right now, he only has his sister-in-law’s old clothes. If they got dirty, not only would he have nothing to change into, but just washing and hanging them out to dry…

He feared he’d lose all face.

“Very well. It’s not warm out. If you don’t want to go, don’t go.”

Huo Ling didn’t insist. He picked up a jar of wild honey gathered from the mountains and ten salted duck eggs given by his sister-in-law. He headed to the Zhou household to borrow an oxcart, taking the opportunity to thank Zhou Chengzu for his recent concern over Huo Ling’s marriage prospects.

Zhou Chengzu initially refused the gifts, but Huo Ling, familiar with the household, simply walked into the kitchen and set them down.

Father and son sat in the house for a while, sipping tea. Hearing Huo Ling had begun preparations for the wedding banquet, Zhou Chengzu couldn’t help but offer earnest advice for a long time.

“Live well from now on. If you have silver, don’t spend it recklessly. Save it for buying land and building a house later. Don’t think your old uncle is nagging. Even if you don’t come down the mountain for now, once you have children, who knows? They might just enjoy running around up here, just like your parents did when they came down to settle down for you two brothers.”

“Uncle speaks wisely. I’ve taken it all to heart.”

Zhou Chengzu waited two breaths, but no retort came from Huo Ling. The silence felt unnervingly unfamiliar.

“Marriage truly changes a man. Why didn’t you listen to reason like this before?”

Chen-shi, the village chief’s wife, who sat nearby, arched her eyebrows at this and chuckled. “Well, that’s obvious. The second young master must get along splendidly with the Yan family’s son. Otherwise, why would they bring gifts to thank you, the matchmaker?”

Zhou Chengzu grew even more cheerful and instructed Huo Ling to fetch the ox cart from the backyard for use.

Back at the Huo residence, the brothers hauled the wood out, secured it on the cart bed with hemp rope, and Yan Qi walked alongside the oxcart, seeing Huo Ling off to the gate.

Dager followed, tail erect, whining incessantly—clearly wanting to go out too.

Yan Qi stroked its head. “Shall we take Dager? He’s whining with such urgency.”

“No need. Villagers elsewhere would surely be frightened by him. If we encountered those meddlesome types, they’d pester us endlessly—utterly vexing.”

Huo Ling casually picked up a straw ball that had rolled to the doorstep and tossed it far away. Dager’s head followed the ball’s trajectory, leaping high to chase after it.

“Play with him when you’re free. Once he’s entertained, he won’t keep thinking about going out.”

Yan Qi agreed, chasing after him a few steps. Huo Ling drove the cart a few dozen feet before noticing the ger still standing in place. He couldn’t help but laugh, waving him home.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

“Huo Er! Huo Er!”

Barely a quarter-hour out of the village, Huo Ling encountered a donkey cart on the road, with a man seated in the back.

He lifted his eyes at the call and recognized Yang Qingsheng, the Yang family man who had been his childhood friend in the village.

The Yang family had also fled from the Central Plains generations ago, bringing with them a hereditary craft of umbrella-making. Initially, they produced umbrellas in the village to sell to shops in the city.

Later, during Yang Qingsheng’s father’s generation, they saved enough silver to rent a shopfront in town. Once Yang Qingsheng was old enough to take charge, his father handed over the shop to him and returned to the countryside to retire.

Thus, Yang Qingsheng now spent most of his time in town and rarely returned to the village. Combined with Huo Ling’s secluded mountain dwelling, their last meeting had been during the New Year’s visits in the first month.

Spotting Huo Ling, Yang Qingsheng immediately reined in his cart, leaning forward to ask, “Heading where with that load of wood?”

Learning that Huo Ling was heading to Shuangjing Village to find a carpenter, Yang Qingsheng didn’t rush off. Instead, he hopped down from the cart, nudged Huo Ling with his elbow, and grinned, winking and raising his eyebrows. “It’s rare to catch you down from the mountains. You’ve got to tell me the truth. I heard you took a husband?”

Huo Ling chuckled. “You’re well-informed. Who told you that?”

“Mind your own business.”

Yang Qingsheng looked even happier than Huo Ling. “Come on, tell me—what’s my little sister-in-law like?”

“You’re quick to change your tune.”

Huo Ling replied cheerfully, “He’s a good person, naturally.”

He paused, then added.

“He’s kind-hearted and a skilled cook. Dager gets along with him, too. All in all, they hit it off.”

Yang Qingsheng listened with keen interest to the first two points, but by the last one, he was speechless.

“I thought you’d finally gotten over your obsession with finding a husband. But you still can’t go three sentences without mentioning Dager. Your brother was right—you might as well just stay up in the mountains, become sworn brothers with Dager, and never come down.”

“I told you from the start I wanted someone who could come into the mountains with me, someone unafraid of Dager. It’s not like this is news to you.”

After Huo Ling finished speaking, Yang Qingsheng nodded perfunctorily.

“Right, right, right.”

This earned him a punch on the shoulder from Huo Ling.

They had agreed to have a few drinks together that evening before Huo Ling headed into the mountains. Only then did Yang Qingsheng shift to another matter.

“When you go to Shuangjing Village, head straight to Old Man Mu’s place. Don’t wander around. I passed by on my way here and saw constables from town there—two of them, carrying broadswords. They looked downright terrifying.”

Huo Ling’s eyebrows shot up. “Constables? Has some crime happened in Shuangjing Village?”

It was well known that the town constables were barely keeping up with matters within the town itself. Minor incidents like petty theft in villages were usually handled by the village head. For constables to be dispatched to the countryside, it must be no small matter.

Yang Qingsheng shook his head. “Who knows? Just be careful.”

Ordinary folk dreaded any entanglement with the authorities, especially someone like Huo Ling who looked like trouble waiting to happen.

“Thanks. I’ll be back before long.”

Halfway there, Huo Ling slipped the dagger from his waist into his robe.

Upon reaching Shuangjing Village, he first spotted the ancient well at the entrance, encircled by a railing.

This well yielded sweet water, never running dry for a century. Locals credited its auspicious feng shui, making Shuangjing the most populous village in the vicinity.

Yet now, just as Yang Qingsheng had described, the village roads were deserted. Every household kept its courtyard gates tightly shut, as if afraid of trouble.

He quickly bypassed several houses and reached the Mu family’s door. Raising his hand, he knocked. From inside, someone approached the crack in the door and asked, “Who’s there?”

“I’m Huo from Xiashan Village. I’ve come to ask Old Man Mu to make two chests for me.”

Old Man Mu’s husband recognized the Huo family and recalled Huo Ling. He had visited before, and with his tall stature and handsome features, he was hard to forget.

He opened the door for him, his expression alert. He motioned for Huo Ling to hurry into the courtyard and whispered, “Things aren’t peaceful in the village today.”

“What’s happened?”

Huo Ling asked, keeping his composure.

The Mu family’s husband pursed his lips and waved his hand.

“We wouldn’t dare gossip about matters among the wealthy families.”