My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 64 Part 2

Today, Huo Shu avoided Huo Shou, yet now Uncle Fan had the audacity to bring everyone to seek him out. It was truly difficult to plead on their behalf.  

But no matter how difficult, it paled in comparison to their lives. The villagers' numbers were dwindling, broken by their suffering at the horse farm—how many more days could they endure?  

Since there was now a sliver of hope, they had to seize it—no matter the cost.  

Even if Huo Shu refused, at least they would have fought for survival, leaving no room for regret later.  

Uncle Fan clenched his jaw and spoke with quiet desperation, "We heard you’re doing business down south now. If you don’t mind, we’d like to follow you."  

"That’s right," someone else chimed in. "We don’t care about hardship—the horse farm treats us like animals. We're not asking for much, just to live with some dignity!"  

"We don’t even need wages, just a chance to follow you for a meal. A-Shu, we’ll follow you through hell itself if need be."  

Huo Shu looked at them but gave no immediate answer.  

Truthfully, when he saw Uncle Fan leading the group through the woods, he had already guessed their intentions.  

The group from Tongzhou, though busy with their own tasks, couldn’t help but wonder about these strangers. After learning from Ge Liang that they were Huo Shu’s fellow villagers, they were somewhat surprised.  

Hearing that they worked at the horse farm—and knowing how horse slaves were treated there, they couldn’t help but feel sympathy.  

Though there were differences between north and south, at the end of the day, they were all just poor folk.  

Had they not followed Huo Shu and Ge Liang into business, they might have ended up selling their land and becoming tenants or servants for wealthy landlords.  

Still, pity as they might, the decision wasn’t theirs to make.  

The firewood crackled, and the campsite fell into an uneasy silence. The flickering flames cast light over faces filled with resolve and quiet hope.  

The flames roared with a savage heat, mirroring the raw desperation burning in their chests.  

Finally, Huo Shu’s voice broke the stillness.  

"Wenliang, fetch the spare tents. Everyone will squeeze in tonight. We’ll buy new ones when we reach the county tomorrow."  

Uncle Fan and the men stood rooted to the spot for a moment—then understanding dawned. Huo Shu was giving them a chance.

Joy spilled over their faces. "A-Shu, from now on, we’ll follow your orders. Whatever you say, we’ll do."  

The others, seeing Huo Shu’s decision, also sighed in relief.  

"At least now we’ve got enough hands for the horses."  

"Right, those runaway horses earlier were caught by Brother Huo’s fellow villagers."  

"Their horsemanship is impressive. Do you think they’d teach me to ride?"  

The group chattered away, finally able to relax and return to work.  

Ji Taoyu raised an eyebrow slightly, watching as Huo Shu went to arrange lodging for his fellow villagers. He pulled the bewildered Huo Shou over to the fire.  

"Sit down. Let me treat your wounds."  

He mixed some warm water, opened the medicine chest, and took out clean cloth and strong liquor.  

Noticing Huo Shou still staring dumbly in Huo Shu’s direction, he said, "Stretch out your arm."  

Huo Shou jolted as if waking from a dream and hastily obeyed.  

Yet his thoughts kept circling back to his brother—unable to believe he was seeing family again after over a decade apart.  

The sting on his wrist snapped him back to reality.  

He looked down to see the young ger carefully rolling up his sleeve, wringing out a cloth from the basin, and gently cleaning the whip wounds on his arm. His movements were soft and unhurried.  

At such close range, Huo Shou stared at the figure before him, momentarily stunned.  

He had barely even been to the northern prefecture city—how could he have ever met someone raised in the delicate beauty of the southern water towns?  

The young ger’s features were as finely crafted as the paintings he’d seen in books as a child—yet far more exquisite. The figures in paintings didn’t move, but this person was alive, frowning, pursing his lips, vivid and real.  

His skin was so fair and smooth it seemed almost unreal. In the north, only newborn babies could compare.  

The wild winds here—had it been winter with its snowstorms—would surely have torn that delicate face apart.  

Ji Taoyu felt the weight of a stare and glanced upward. When their eyes locked, Huo Shou's face burned as if scalded, and he jerked his head away in embarrassment.  

"You’ve got too many whip wounds. Take off your clothes so I can clean and treat them all."  

Huo Shou immediately clutched the hem of his tattered outer garment. Though the fabric was already torn to shreds by the whips and barely covered anything—and as a native of the north, going shirtless was nothing unusual—he suddenly felt inexplicably shy.  

"The northerners are supposed to be bold. How come you’re like this?"  

Ji Taoyu widened his eyes at Huo Shou. "Or are you just embarrassed to have me treat you?"  

"W-who’s embarrassed?!"  

Huo Shou swallowed hard. "I-I’m just cold."  

"Fine."  

Ji Taoyu, ever patient, took out a pair of scissors from the medicine chest. "Then I’ll just cut the fabric around the wounds. That alright?"  

Huo Shou lowered his head slightly and didn’t resist further.  

With his back turned, he felt the cool air where the fabric had been cut away.  

But since they weren’t facing each other, some of his northern boldness returned.  

He didn’t tell Ji Taoyu that during the day at the horse farm, he had noticed him when he went to see the foal.  

Sincerely, he said, "You’re very beautiful."  

Ji Taoyu’s hands paused briefly before resuming. "Of course I am."  

"Then… are you promised to anyone?"

Ji Taoyu's eyes flickered at these words: "What’s it to you whether I’m promised or not? If I were, what then? If I weren’t, would you actually want to marry me?"

Huo Shou felt a pang of regret but answered honestly: "You’re very beautiful. Any man would be moved. But someone like you, I can’t afford to keep right now."