Chapter 40: The Snow Has Stopped Falling And The Sky Has Cleared.

Wen Heyin leaned closer to Mu Zhiming. When Wen Heyin saw the warm pot in Mu Zhiming’s hands, Wen Heyin wondered: “How could there be such a thing in a Military Camp? But it is indeed perfect for this type of weather. I was thinking about going to the nearby town to buy two. But this has saved me the trip.”

As if he had awakened from a dream, Mu Zhiming stood up and tried to leave the tent.

“Hey! What are you doing?! It’s still snowing outside!” Wen Heyin hurried to drag Mu Zhiming back, refusing to let him take a single step.

“I’m going after that soldier.” Mu Zhiming urgently said.

“Why do you want to go after him?” Wen Heyin was confused.

“I want to ask him who sent this pot to me.” Mu Zhiming said.

“Don’t get up! I’ll go!” After Wen Heyin forced Mu Zhiming to go back to the bed, he hurried outside.

A few minutes later, Wen Heyin came back, feeling chilled. Mu Zhiming brushed the snow off of Wen Heyin’s shoulders and asked: “Did he tell you who it was?”

“Shit! You will absolutely, completely, definitely won’t be able to guess who sent it!” Since he was so surprised, and with his eyes wide open, Wen Heyin couldn’t stop talking.

Mu Zhiming, on the contrary, said confidently: “General Gu.”

Wen Heyin was utterly shocked: “Hiss….How do you know?! Did you hear us talking?!”

Mu Zhiming’s eyes trembled slightly: “Was it really him?”

Wen Heyin nodded: “Yes! I understand if you can’t believe it, because I can’t believe it either! I even asked that soldier twice, but both times he said that it was the ice-cold General Gu who asked him to send that pot to you! Could it be that this pot has poison inside of it? Does that General hate you that much, to the point of wanting to kill you?!”

Mu Zhiming tightly held the warm pot in his arms, pursed his lips, and then smiled: “He doesn’t hate me, you misunderstood him. I also….” Mu Zhiming closed his eyes and murmured in a low voice: “I also once thought he was a cold and aloof man, but that was because I didn’t know him well enough to understand him….”

Wen Heyin: “Why are you smiling like that?!”

Mu Zhiming: “Like what?”

Wen Heyin: “Like a fool.”

Mu Zhiming: “…..”

Wen Heyin: “It’s just a pot with hot water. So what if he took the trouble of asking someone to send it over? Don’t be foolish enough to be bought by such a small favor, alright?”

Mu Zhiming curved his eyes and smiled softly: “Even if the intention is small, it’s still very considerate. I should be satisfied with it.”

Wen Heyin waved his hand and said: “Alright, alright, can we go to sleep?”

“Let’s sleep.” Mu Zhiming hugged the small pot and then put it under the covers. That night, Mu Zhiming had a warm sleep, and didn’t feel cold.

—In the early hours of the next day, the wind had died down, the snow had stopped falling, and the warm sun of early winter melted the fine frost. Wen Heyin came out of the tent to take a look. When he came back, he was ready to talk. However, Mu Zhiming suddenly raised his hand to stop Wen Heyin: “Wait. I know you want to yell at me again about going back to the Capital, but we still have to prepare for the trip, don’t we?”

Right when Wen Heyin was about to speak again, Mu Zhiming immediately added: “I know you want to say that there’s nothing to prepare, but we’re in the Rong Yan Military Camp. Everything must be reported to the Commander-in-Chief. This isn’t my house, we can’t go in and out as we please.”

Wen Heyin: “No….”

Mu Zhiming: “No? What ‘no’? Since the wind and snow has stopped, the following days must warm up. Besides, as you can see, I’m not coughing as much anymore. I know we have to return to the Capital, but there’s no need to rush.”

Wen Heyin: “….You….”

Mu Zhiming covered his ears and said: “I’m not listening, I’m not listening.”

Wen Heyin: “….General Gu….”

After hearing that name, Mu Zhiming immediately put down his hands: “General Gu? What about General Gu?”

“I was trying to tell you that General Gu is waiting outside the tent. Do you want to see him or not?” Wen Heyin tiredly asked.

When hearing this, Mu Zhiming got anxious: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

Wen Heyin was even angrier than him: “I was trying to! But you kept interrupting me!!!”

Mu Zhiming ignored him: “Hurry, hurry. Invite him in.”

”
”
—

After Gu Heyan entered the tent, Mu Zhiming immediately got up to greet him. With a big smile on his face, Mu Zhiming bowed and saluted Gu Heyan: “General Gu, I wonder what urgent matter has arised, for you to come visit me so early in the morning?”

Gu Heyan’s expression was as cold as ever. With a light tone, he said: “Once the construction of the beacon towers and the wall are done, this Military Camp will move eastward tomorrow. Since our schedule is tight and urgent, we cannot take care of miscellaneous matters. You came here under the orders to learn the Gouji language and investigate the causes of the war. Since both things have already come to favorable results, there’s no longer a need for you to stay in the barracks. I have sent a letter to His Majesty, so there is no need for you to report when you return. Tomorrow, you will travel back to the Capital without delay.”

Mu Zhiming was slightly stunned. After a while, Mu Zhiming clasped his fist and whispered: “I understand.”

Gu Heyan nodded. Without further ado, he turned around and left.

Wen Heyin waited for a bit, lifted the curtain of the tent, and looked outside. After making sure that Gu Heyan was far away, and wouldn’t be able to hear him, Wen Heyin came back to complain: “Look! He regards your work as ‘miscellaneous matters’! With the fierce and cold attitude he showed just now, you really still believe that he doesn’t hate you? Who would believe that?!” The more Wen Heyin spoke, the more angrier he became. “You were sent by the Imperial Court! This General doesn’t have the authority to drive you away! Why didn’t you say anything? Young Master, why are you so silent? You’re not sad, are you?”

Mu Zhiming blankly stared at Wen Heyin, still in a trance: “Didn’t you hear him just now? He said a lot of words to me.”

Wen Heyin was horrified: “Mu Zhiming, are you insane?!”

Mu Zhiming smiled lightly: “I may really be insane.”

In his previous life, Gu Heyan said the exact same words to Mu Zhiming. At that time, Mu Zhiming had already finished learning the Gouji language from Xiahou Hu, and was more than ready to return to the Capital. Gu Heyan, whom Mu Zhiming hadn’t seen for an entire month, suddenly came to him and said those words to him.

The young son of the Duke of Yan, in his previous life, was very arrogant and felt that Gu Heyan’s words were extremely sharp, feeling as if he had been stabbed with an awl. Mu Zhiming was so angry that he left the barracks that very day, without even saying goodbye.

In this life, however, the mind of the young son of the Duke of Yan was filled with: ‘Wow! He said so many words! To me! A lot of words left his mouth! How rare!’

‘Hmm, the snow has stopped falling and the sky has finally cleared. It’s indeed a great and beautiful day!’