Wei Shao emerged from the bathhouse, draped in a loose white robe. The collar was slightly open, the right side loosely covering down to his waist, untied and flowing freely. The servants who had been attending to his bath in the west room efficiently tidied up and respectfully withdrew. Chunniang glanced at Xiao Qiao before also exiting, gently closing the door behind her.

Only the two of them remained in the room.

His belongings had already been returned to their original places. Among them was a flat, foot-long red wooden box secured with a hidden lock, which had previously been placed on the top shelf of the storage rack and was now back in its original position.

Wei Shao had initially gotten onto the bed but suddenly seemed to remember something. He got up again and walked directly to the storage rack by the wall. He took down the box and, with his back to Xiao Qiao, appeared to fiddle with the hidden lock. He abruptly turned around and asked, “Have you opened this box?”

Xiao Qiao immediately shook her head. “No, I haven’t. I haven’t touched any of your belongings in this room at all. When the servants initially tidied up, I instructed them to just temporarily put things together. How could we dare to open it without permission?”

Wei Shao closed the lid and put the box back in its place. He turned and said coldly, “In the future, don’t touch my things carelessly.”

Xiao Qiao nodded. “You don’t need to tell me, I already know. Today was indeed my oversight. It won’t happen again in the future.”

Wei Shao made no response and walked back to the bed, lying down.

Xiao Qiao was still standing by the bed. Seeing him lie down and close his eyes as if preparing to sleep, she felt a bit perplexed.

It was unexpected that Wei Shao, upon returning to the Wei family, would suddenly change his behavior and share a room with her. She certainly didn’t think it was because he had suddenly become benevolent and wanted to consider her reputation, nor was it possible that he had developed any feelings for her. Although the reason puzzled her, she guessed it must be related to his meeting with his mother, Madam Zhu, earlier that evening.

These things could be pondered later; the immediate issue was where she should sleep.

She speculated that this man probably wouldn’t want her to share the bed with him.

As for herself, even if nothing happened, sharing a bed would still feel somewhat awkward…

“Why are you still standing there?” Wei Shao suddenly asked.

Xiao Qiao was startled. She glanced at him.

His eyes were still closed.

His meaning was very clear.

Xiao Qiao climbed onto the bed, moving as gently and quietly as possible. She slowly lay down, careful not to touch him.

He didn’t say anything more and kept his eyes closed, seemingly falling asleep.

After a while, Xiao Qiao’s initially tense body began to relax. Just then, Wei Shao suddenly opened his eyes, got out of bed in one swift motion, grabbed his long sword from the table, and quickly walked towards the door.

Xiao Qiao was slightly shocked, not knowing what he was doing. She propped herself up on one arm, half-sitting up. Before she could react, she saw him yank open the door, his sword already unsheathed, its tip pointing directly at a servant woman who had been pressing her ear against the door crack, eavesdropping intently.

This servant woman’s surname was Wang, and the maids called her Wang Ao. She was the housekeeper responsible for attending to the bathing matters in the west room.

Wang Ao had been straining to listen at the door when she suddenly sensed something was amiss. Just as she was about to slip away, the door unexpectedly opened. A flash of light and a gleaming sword tip was pointing at her nose. Looking up, she saw Wei Shao’s figure looming in the doorway, his robe half-open, his eyes fixed on her with a gloomy gaze. She shuddered, her legs gave way, and she fell to her knees, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for mercy.

“Young Master, please spare me! Young Master, please spare me! This servant had no choice… It was Madam’s orders, I dared not disobey…”

Wei Shao narrowed his eyes and stepped slightly to the side.

“Open your dog eyes wide and look clearly, have you seen enough?”

Wang Ao didn’t dare to look, only continuously kowtowing and pleading.

“I told you to look, so look!”

Wang Ao trembled fearfully but finally managed to raise her head, quickly glancing inside.

The room was dimly lit, with warm green screens. Through several layers of curtains, she could vaguely see a hazy figure half-sitting on the bed. Xiao Qiao’s long hair cascaded to her waist, her silhouette delicate and alluring.

Wang Ao dared not look any more and closed her eyes.

“Have you seen clearly?” Wei Shao’s voice sounded ominously in her ear.

“Yes… yes, I’ve seen clearly…”

Wei Shao suddenly swung his sword, and amidst Wang Ao’s earth-shattering scream, one side of the door frame was split.

Wang Ao had thought the sword was aimed at her and fell back on her bottom. When she finally realized she was unharmed, she slowly opened her eyes, her whole body shaking like a sieve.

“Get out,” Wei Shao sheathed his sword and spat out a single word.

Wang Ao felt as if she had been granted a great pardon. She scrambled to her feet and fled, stumbling as she ran.

Wei Shao slammed shut the now ill-fitting door and walked back.

Xiao Qiao held her breath as she watched him. She saw his face clouded with a gloomy expression as he approached the bed, tossed the sword on the table, lifted the bed curtain, and lay back down.

He quickly closed his eyes, and after a moment, the anger on his face seemed to gradually dissipate, his expression finally returning to calmness.

The candlelight filtering through the bed curtains cast an almost soft glow on the contours of his profile.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes again, meeting Xiao Qiao’s gaze.

“Have you looked enough?” he asked. His voice was flat, with a hint of coldness. Yet his brow betrayed a trace of weariness that he couldn’t conceal.

Xiao Qiao hurriedly closed her eyes.

The candle on the candlestick finally burned out, and the light dimmed.

Moonlight seeped in from the window, making the bed curtains hazy.

Wei Shao’s breathing became even. He had fallen asleep.

Xiao Qiao opened her eyes again, her gaze passing over the man on the pillow beside her, looking at the patch of white moonlight outside the window beyond the curtains.

The moonlight was beautiful tonight.

……

The same moonlight was also shining a thousand miles away, on a small mountain village at the foot of Lingbi Mountain in Huainan.

It was late at night, and the village of about a dozen households who made their living by woodcutting and hunting was quiet under the moonlight, its inhabitants long asleep. The occasional hoot of an owl in the distance only added to the tranquility of this spring night.

At the end of the village, by a gurgling mountain stream on an open space, the new home of Da Qiao and Bi Zhi was almost complete.

They had arrived here half a month ago. It was a stroke of fate. That day, they had originally planned to continue south when they encountered several bandits robbing Old Wang and his grandson of the grain and salt they had exchanged for furs at the county market. Bi Zhi had beaten the bandits to the ground, and they had scattered and fled. Old Wang was injured, and his grandson was only in his teens. His son had been forcibly conscripted by Xu Zhou’s Inspector Xue Tai to become a soldier a few years ago and had died within a few months. Now there was no one else in the family, only the grandfather and grandson depending on each other. Bi Zhi and Da Qiao escorted the two home. Old Wang was grateful, and during their casual conversation, he learned that the two were a young couple who had fled their hometown due to war and were seeking to settle in the south. The old man, deeply sympathetic to the hardships of war, invited them to settle down next to his home.

This small mountain village, hidden in the deep mountains with beautiful scenery and rarely visited by outsiders, was indeed a good place for seclusion. Da Qiao was tempted, and Bi Zhi followed her wishes. So they settled down, chose a location here, and began to build a thatched cottage. Bi Zhi cut down trees, Da Qiao learned to twist hemp into ropes, and working together, after half a month, they finally built this shelter that could protect them from wind and rain.

Bi Zhi had been working from before dawn until now. He had already thatched the roof, with only the last piece on the edge remaining.

Da Qiao sat on a stone in the simple yard enclosed by a fence, watching the man still busy on the roof in the moonlight. Although she was also feeling sore and tired, her heart was full of joy.

Their house was almost finished. Although it was only two thatched rooms, it could shelter them from wind and rain, and she was already content.

With a house, they could settle down and no longer have to wander. Later, when life became more stable, she wanted Bi Zhi to build a chicken coop so they could raise a few chickens, and she could plant a vegetable garden…

“Are you tired? Let’s finish the rest tomorrow!” Da Qiao called out to him, feeling a bit sorry for him.

Bi Zhi told her to go to sleep first, saying he would be done soon.

Da Qiao refused and continued to wait for him.

Bi Zhi quickened his pace and finally finished laying the last piece of the thatched roof. After ensuring it was secure and wouldn’t leak, he leaped down from the roof with an agile and nimble movement.

He had been working all day and was covered in sweat. He put down his machete and waded into the mountain stream in front of the door.

The water reached his waistline. The moonlight shone on his muscular back, naked and glistening, accentuating his ape-like back and wasp-like waist. His silhouette looked as solid as a mountain, full of steady strength.

Bi Zhi was truly capable. He could do everything: fighting, pathfinding, tree-cutting, house-building, and even cooking and laundry.

The food he cooked was much better than what she made.

This made Da Qiao feel a bit ashamed. She was determined to quickly learn these skills herself, to avoid situations like today where she had served him half-cooked millet rice after he had worked hard all day.

He had still eaten it ravenously, praising her cooking as delicious.

Looking at his silhouette in the stream through the fence, Da Qiao suddenly felt her face grow hot.

Bi Zhi returned after cooling off, and it was already past midnight. The two went inside to rest and sleep.

Until now, they still slept separately. Da Qiao slept on the bed Bi Zhi had made for her in the inner room a few days ago, while he slept on a grass mat in the outer room.

Da Qiao found it hard to fall asleep.

A faint scent of fresh thatch lingered in the air. Tonight’s moonlight also seemed truly unusual.

She couldn’t help but think of the sight of him standing shirtless in the stream earlier.

She felt her face was still very hot, and not just her face, her body seemed to be getting warm too.

She held her breath, listening carefully to the sounds from the outer room.

It seemed he wasn’t asleep either. She could hear the faint rustling sounds when he turned on his grass mat.

Finally, she got out of bed, slowly walked in the dark to the doorway that still had no door, and softly said, “I’m a bit cold.”

……

Bi Zhi wasn’t asleep.

In fact, for many nights, he hadn’t been able to sleep well.

He had taken her away, the once pampered daughter of the Qiao family who was like a goddess. At first, to escape the pursuit of the Qiao family, they had been constantly on the move, with no fixed abode. On unlucky nights, they didn’t even have a dilapidated temple to stay in and had to spend the night in the wilderness. Wild beasts, bandits, wars… there were too many dangers around. He had taken her away, and even if he couldn’t give her a stable life now, at least he had to ensure her safety. During those days and nights, he transformed into the fiercest hunter. He had killed those with ill intentions toward Da Qiao without blinking an eye, and he was also the most vigilant guardian. Every night, he didn’t dare to relax for a moment. At the slightest rustle, he would open his eyes, only breathing a sigh of relief when he saw his woman still curled up sleeping beside him.

Now, they finally had a little nest of their own that could shelter them from wind and rain.

Da Qiao’s admiring gaze when she looked at him made him feel very happy, but also a bit guilty.

The experiences of their recent flight made him realize that in this era of war and chaos, there was no justice, no heavenly principle, only the law of the jungle. Only by making himself stronger could he better protect his woman.

What they had now was far from what he wanted to give Da Qiao.

She deserved more, better things.

……

As Bi Zhi lay in the darkness with his eyes closed, his mind churning with thoughts he had never shared with Da Qiao, he suddenly heard the light sound of her footsteps getting out of bed, followed by her voice.

He was startled and immediately sat up from his grass mat.

She said she was cold.

Although it was mid-spring, it was normal for her delicate body to feel cold in the deep mountain night.

He didn’t even have a decent cotton blanket at hand. There was only an old, shedding deerskin and a few pieces of clothing.

Suppressing the guilt in his heart, he got up to light an oil lamp in the dark and said, “I’ll bring you some clothes to cover up, you lie back down first…”

But Da Qiao didn’t move, just looking at him.

Bi Zhi felt she was different from usual. The oil lamp was very dim, but he could see her cheeks seemed a bit red, and her eyes were bright and shining.

He seemed to sense something. The heart in his chest suddenly began to beat faster. His whole body’s blood immediately heated up.

“I want you to hold me. That should make me warmer…” she said softly, and then, seemingly out of shyness, she leaned over and blew out the oil lamp in his hand with a puff.

The room immediately darkened again, so dark that one couldn’t see their hand in front of their face. But the sound of their breathing became increasingly clear.

Bi Zhi suddenly dropped the oil lamp, grabbed her hand, and led her outside, bringing her to stand under the bright moon hanging high over the mountain peak.

“Can I?” His voice trembled slightly.

Da Qiao felt the heat in his palm and even heard his heart beating violently.

She said shyly in a low voice, “Doesn’t Old Wang and the others already know that we are husband and wife?”

Bi Zhi hesitated no longer. He pulled her down to kneel with him on the ground, bowing to the bright moon. Then he stood up, picked her up, and quickly carried her back to the thatched cottage, gently laying her on the bed.

Suppressed, painful yet seemingly joyful, faint moans came from the thatched cottage, dissolving into the gurgling sound of the stream outside the fence. Bi Zhi seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of strength, hot sweat rolling off his young and strong body, warming Da Qiao’s soft and beautiful body… When everything finally settled down, she was still tightly held in the man’s arms, cherished like a treasure.

She pressed her face against his chest, silently shedding tears.

These were tears of happiness, but also of guilt.

“I miss my mother a bit, I wonder how she is…”

“I also miss my little sister, Manman. I’ve only recently started to understand that when she told me she wanted to marry Wei Hou back then, she must have been lying to me. I don’t know how she’s doing now…”

Bi Zhi remained silent, holding his wife even tighter in his arms.