Chapter 38: Don’t Be Afraid, Everything Is Gonna Be Alright.

The weather in the desert was really unpredictable. The temperature of the night dropped steeply, and snow began to fall from the sky. Since Mu Zhiming was afraid of the cold, he couldn’t get used to it and began to feel some discomfort. Mu Zhiming wanted to cough, but because he was afraid of disturbing Gu Heyan’s rest, he kept holding it back, which only made him stay awake in the middle of the night.

In the second half of the night, Mu Zhiming could finally fall asleep. However, Mu Zhiming was suddenly awakened by a strange noise coming from outside. With sleepy eyes, still confused by sleep, someone pounced on him in the dark and covered Mu Zhiming’s mouth….

At the same time, outside the inn, dozens of Gouji soldiers dressed in armor and holding torches broke into the inn, completely surrounding it!

“Search!!!” The fierce and merciless-looking leader of the Gouji soldiers waved his hand, then the other soldiers immediately scattered in all directions with machetes in hand. Then, they began to rummage through every inch of the inn, almost completely pulling up the floor.

The innkeeper got up from all of the noise and put on his clothes. When he saw all of the soldiers searching his inn, he was so frightened that his legs trembled like chaff.

A young soldier approached the innkeeper and shouted in broken Great Jin language: “Where are people?”

“What people? I don’t know!” The innkeeper shook his head repeatedly.

The young soldier was displeased with this reply and went forward with his sword to intimidate the innkeeper. However, he was stopped by the General leading the troop, who glared at him and angrily said: “We don’t touch the village people. Don’t you understand the rules?!”

“General! We found something on the second floor!” A Gouji soldier shouted.

The Gouji General immediately walked upstairs. After turning left on the second floor, he walked to the first room surrounded by the soldiers, pushed the soldiers aside and walked into the room. After looking inside the room, the Gouji General was so angry that he chopped up the bed with his machete.

The room was empty, and no one could be seen. However, someone’s luggage was there, and the bedding was warm. It was clear that someone had stayed here and had just left.

“Search! Search everywhere! They just left, don’t let them escape. The six of you, go outside the inn and check the surroundings!” The Gouji General kicked over the table and chairs.

Last night, before going to bed, Mu Zhiming had packed his luggage. But now, said luggage was thrown all over the floor, revealing clothes, as well as a gold-plated silver waist plate.

The Gouji General squatted down and picked up the gold-plated silver waist plate, only to see three words engraved on it: Yulin Army General.

“Hmph! So it’s really him.” The General sneered and tightly squeezed the waist plate , his eyes filled with self-satisfaction. Now filled with confidence, the General’s voice became louder: “Carefully search for him! You have to find him, even if you have to dig a meter into the ground! I don’t believe we can’t find him! The village is surrounded by our people. The only way Gu Heyan can escape is if he grows wings and flies away!”

That night, the whole village was turned upside down, and every household was inspected by the Gouji soldiers. Fortunately, the Gouji soldiers didn’t harm any villagers.

However, what they didn’t expect was that Gu Heyan would disappear into thin air. No matter where they searched, he was nowhere to be seen….

As the Gouji General grew angrier and cursed out loud. In the backyard of the inn, next to the haystack, under the iron cover covered with yellow sand, Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan hid in the innkeeper’s sweet potatoes cellar. Tightly held by Gu Heyan, Mu Zhiming’s chest was pressed against Gu Heyan’s chest.

Everything had happened so fast. Before Mu Zhiming could fully wake up, Gu Heyan grabbed him, jumped out of the window of the second floor and ran into the backyard. Gu Heyan acted quickly and hid in the cellar before the Gouji soldiers could burst through the door.

However, since the space inside the cellar was so small, Gu Heyan had to hold Mu Zhiming tightly in his arms, pressing Mu Zhiming as close to his body as he could. Even then, they barely fit inside the cellar.

After Mu Zhiming realized what had happened, he was immediately startled by a cold sweat and chills running down his back. When he heard the sound of the footsteps on the ground, as well as the loud shouting coming here and there, Mu Zhiming became even more worried. If they were found and captured, they would surely die.

Mu Zhiming was the one who insisted on doing this trip to the village, and Gu Heyan solemnly advised him against it, but Mu Zhiming didn’t listen. If something really happened, then Mu Zhiming felt that he had committed an unpardonable crime!

Thinking of this, Mu Zhiming couldn’t stop trembling.

At that moment, a big, warm hand palm caressed his back. Stunned, Mu Zhiming felt Gu Heyan’s arms slightly tighten around him. Then, he heard Gu Heyan whisper: “Don’t be afraid, everything will be alright.”

Although they were still in danger, and the exact number of Gouji soldiers was unknown, Mu Zhiming felt more at ease. He was no longer afraid.

Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan hid in the cellar for half a night. During this time, neither of them could move. After a long time of staying still, their bones began to ache. Due to the lack of air in the cellar, Mu Zhiming, who had a lung disease when he was a child, was dizzy and began to have trouble breathing.

Gu Heyan began to feel that the man in his arms began to pant rapidly. Although Mu Zhiming felt uncomfortable, and was afraid of dying, he didn’t utter a single word of complaint. With his head resting against Gu Heyan’s shoulder, Mu Zhiming gritted his teeth and forced himself to bear it.

After an unknown period of time had passed, they no longer heard any movement outside. However, neither of them dared to act rashly. After waiting for another half an hour, Gu Heyan slightly pushed open the iron cover and carefully observed the surroundings through a gap, in order to make sure that no one was outside. Only after confirming the place was deserted, Gu Heyan fully opened the cellar cover, went out first, and then held Mu Zhiming’s hand to take him out of the cellar.

When Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan first hid in the cellar, it was late at night, but when they finally came out, it was already dawn.

When Mu Zhiming came out of the cellar, he was shivering and even staggered a few steps. He even felt that the sunlight was blinding and the sky was spinning. His lungs, which had held several coughs for far too long, exploded in pain: “Cough, cough, cough.”

“Are you alright?” Gu Heyan hurried to hold Mu Zhiming’s waist, in order to prevent him from falling to the ground. Gu Heyan’s eyes were filled with an uncontrollable heartache.

Mu Zhiming coughed so hard, he couldn’t even utter a word and could only wave his hands.

When the innkeeper heard the noise, he walked to the backyard. When he saw the two men, his eyes were wide and he was unable to speak coherently: “Gonzis! How, what, you….”

“Have the Gouji people left?” Gu Heyan asked.

“They’re gone, gone!” The innkeeper hurried to say.

After all, this village belonged to the Great Jin territory, and the Gouji soldiers didn’t dare to stay for long periods of time.

Gu Heyan and Mu Zhiming then hurried to the second floor, to retrieve their luggage from the room they had been staying in. However, when they pushed open the door, they saw that the room was a mess. The tables and chairs were overturned to the ground, and the two beds were turned upside down, showing the great commotion of last night.

Mu Zhiming looked for his luggage, only to find it scattered all over the ground. At that moment, Mu Zhiming suddenly remembered something and his face turned pale. After rushing to the ground, he rummaged through the clothes. Lost in thought, Mu Zhiming murmured: “No, no, no. It’s gone….”

“Is something wrong?” Gu Heyan stepped forward and pulled Mu Zhiming up from the ground: “What’s missing?”

Mu Zhiming’s hands were shaking as he tightly held his clothes. When Mu Zhiming glanced at Gu Heyan, his eyelashes fluttered, and his voice was raspy: “The waist plate you gave me, the one which had Yulin Army General engraved on it, it’s gone. It was robbed, I lost it….”

“It doesn’t matter.” Gu Heyan didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

“How can it not matter?” Mu Zhiming was depressed, and his eyes were lifeless. “That’s a sacred gift given to you by the Emperor. It holds the same importance as the red edict and the white horse1. It’s the glory of your conquests in the battlefield.”

Gu Heyan: “If the Gouji soldiers hadn’t gotten the waist plate, they wouldn’t have anything to report back, and they wouldn’t have given up so easily. It’s a blessing that they took it away.”

As Mu Zhiming watched Gu Heyan comfort him, Mu Zhiming’s heart felt more and more guilty and uneasy.

‘In my previous life, I failed to return the red agate jade pendant to him, and in this life, I lost his Imperial waist token. How can I be in debt to him in both lifetimes?’

All of a sudden, broad palms fell on Mu Zhiming’s shoulders, warm and strong.

Gu Heyan stared at Mu Zhiming’s bright eyes and said: “Things that are external to your body are not worth your grief, do you understand?”

Mu Zhiming sighed and nodded.

“Let’s go now. This place is not safe anymore.”