Ji Taoyu nodded. Washing properly inside the tent was out of the question, and doing so openly at camp wouldn't do either - with all these men around, it would be too embarrassing.
Clutching his clothes, he scurried after Huo Shu like a little tail, sneaking into the woods like a thief.
The grove was pitch black, every step crunching on leaves and twigs. Ji Taoyu was afraid of stepping on snakes or insects, sticking so close to Huo Shu he nearly trod on his heels.
"We won’t go far. I’ll stand guard—no one will come."
"Y-you’re guarding me?"
"If not me, who else?"
Ji Taoyu pursed his lips, reluctantly agreed. Even familiar woods spooked him at night, let alone this wilderness. He silently accepted Huo Shu’s arrangement.
Huo Shu set down the buckets and took Ji Taoyu’s clothes. "Want me to fetch a torch for light?"
Ji Taoyu hastily waved his hands. "That’d be no different from washing at camp. No need for light."
Mosquitoes buzzed incessantly. Ji Taoyu hurriedly undressed, determined to finish quickly and return. The chill mattered little—the true torment came from the swarming insects.
In the darkness, his boldness grew. Leaning on Huo Shu, he swiftly stripped off his clothes with fumbling hands.
A rustling sound followed.
Huo Shu stood like a human clothes rack, letting Ji Taoyu pile garments into his arms. He gathered them against his wrist, then felt a soft fabric brush his hand—warm from Ji Taoyu’s body heat.
He flexed his wrist, letting the garment settle into his palm. His fingers traced the fabric, gauging its length to guess where Ji Taoyu had worn it.
As the only ger in the group, Ji Taoyu kept his undergarments carefully tucked away—even Huo Shu seldom got a glimpse of them.
The sporadic splashes of water stirred something in Huo Shu, his mind heating up like the steam from the buckets.
As his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, faint outlines emerged—the soft curves of Ji Taoyu’s silhouette beside the buckets.
Huo Shu’s grip tightened around the fabric in his hands, his breath catching. Thoughts that belonged only between husband and wife stirred in his mind.
Ji Taoyu hurriedly poured water over himself, one ladle after another, not daring to take his time. The sensation of being watched prickled at his skin—and not just by the swarming mosquitoes.
After hastily finishing with the two buckets, Ji Taoyu flapped his hands urgently. "My clothes! Quick!"
Huo Shu shook out the drying cloth and wrapped it around Ji Taoyu’s shoulders.
Ji Taoyu exhaled, warmth seeping into him from Huo Shu’s proximity. He wiped his legs with a corner of the cloth, about to ask for his clothes, when strong arms suddenly swept him off his feet.
Ji Taoyu gasped, his body reacting before his mind could - arms flying up to lock around Huo Shu's neck as he was pulled flush against the taller man's chest.
Still naked, his face burned. "W-what are you doing?"
Huo Shu hooked Ji Taoyu’s legs around his waist.
His voice, unusually rough, murmured, "Can we do it like this later?"
Ji Taoyu froze.
The thin drying cloth provided scant coverage, shielding his back while leaving his front conspicuously exposed - a fact neither of them could ignore.
Pressed tightly against Huo Shu, Ji Taoyu couldn't see much in the darkness, but the intimate contact alone sent waves of heat rushing to his face. His pulse hammered in his throat - the unspoken implication hung between them as clearly as the ever-present mosquito swarm.
His heart pounded. The question didn’t need elaboration—not just mosquitoes wanted a taste, it seemed.
"Absolutely not!" Ji Taoyu's refusal came sharp and immediate. He knew Huo Shu's stamina all too well - they'd be out here all night becoming a buffet for every insect in the forest.
"The mosquitoes here are vicious enough without giving them a reason to linger. I'll be scratching for weeks!"
Huo Shu's broad chest rose and fell with restrained breaths. He'd anticipated this response, though that didn't quell his frustration. While part of him yearned to press the matter, reason prevailed - the woods' bloodthirsty inhabitants showed no mercy, especially not to someone with Ji Taoyu's delicate constitution.
Still, the complaint slipped out before he could stop it, "It’s been so long."
"And you won’t let me do it at camp."
"You know why we couldn't at camp," Ji Taoyu countered, detecting the petulant edge in Huo Shu's voice.
Since leaving Lianping, they hadn’t been intimate. First because of the plague, then because of Hubiao caravan—with both groups camped together, every time Huo Shu showed interest, Ji Taoyu had shut him down firmly.
Ji Taoyu exhaled sharply through his nose. "Fine, back to camp."
Huo Shu's eyebrows arched in surprise.
Wrapped tightly in Huo Shu’s cloak, Ji Taoyu was carried straight to their tent and tucked into bed—still as exposed as in the woods.
As Huo Shu loosened the cloak ties, Ji Taoyu's eyes narrowed in suspicion. The man hadn't worn that cloak all day—why put it on after dinner?
As he scratched his arm, realization hot him: this had been Huo Shu's plan all along. Huo Shu had counted on him refusing the woods, making camp seem acceptable by comparison.
"Merchant Zhang deals in herbs. Take what you need from him—we’ll pay later."
Seeing Ji Taoyu’s mosquito bites, Huo Shu couldn’t help but fuss.
"I already asked. He only has common, worthless repellents—nothing useful."
This early in the season, mugwort was still too tender—dried and burned, it barely kept the bugs at bay.
The early season mugwort they'd gathered was too green to be effective - the smoldering bundle at their tent flap did little to deter the persistent insects.
Huo Shu stripped—not just his outer robe, but his underclothes too.
"Just endure a little longer. Baiyunjian is near—fewer trees, more sand, fewer bugs."
Ji Taoyu made a noncommittal noise, determined not to appear weak. But when Huo Shu's sculpted torso came into view, his breath caught. After weeks of abstinence, the sight affected him more than he cared to admit.
Huo Shu said no more, sliding under the blanket.
"Wait, wait—"
Feeling Huo Shu’s uncharacteristic urgency, Ji Taoyu worried he’d go too far.
He scrambled up, opened his medicine chest, and shoved something into Huo Shu’s hand.
"Use this."
Huo Shu examined the unfamiliar item, turning it over in his hand.
He looked at the transparent object crumpled in his hand, which, when shaken open, turned into a small finger-shaped pouch.
Ji Taoyu watched Huo Shu kneeling beside him, observing with such seriousness that his face flushed like rosy clouds.
Huo Shu had grown up among rough men—his face was stern and unyielding, yet this didn't make him a gentleman.
Even if he had never seen such a thing before, he ought to know what it was for.
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