Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 66

Chapter 66

 

“Wake up, someone’s coming!” Lu Yao shouted as he woke the children. He quickly got up and grabbed a kitchen knife. Coincidentally, today, Lu Guangsheng was not at home, and the thief must have been drawn here by the smell!

 

The noise outside wasn’t very loud; if it weren’t for his keen ears, Lu Yao might not have heard it. Thinking that it was just him and the children at home, his heart raced, and he felt as if it were in his throat.

 

There was a muffled thud from the yard; someone was climbing over the gate!

 

Lu Yao was startled and immediately grabbed a chair to block the door. He peeked through the gap in the door and saw a tall, thin figure sneaking toward the well in the yard, bending down to fetch water.

 

Lu Yao was puzzled. This thief wasn’t stealing anything; he was stealing water?

 

After a while, the person surprisingly stripped off his clothes and started washing himself in the yard. Lu Yao’s face flushed, and he turned away, cursing under his breath, “What an idiot. He’s gone through all this trouble just to take a bath in someone else’s yard?”

 

Or maybe this person planned to do something inappropriate after his bath? Lu Yao gripped the kitchen knife tightly.

 

He thought of many possibilities, but he never imagined that the person was his long-missed husband.

 

In the yard, Zhao Beichuan stripped off all his clothes. After traveling for days, his body was covered in dirt and sweat, and it smelled unbearable.

 

That day, he slept in the military camp in Yingzhou, and the next morning, he set off with the others to head home. Everyone was eager to return, wishing they could be back home immediately!

 

When they went to Yingzhou, they carried heavy supplies. Along the way, they encountered the Khitan, and over four hundred men died. The rest of them continued hauling food for the next 28 days before arriving. Although they were delayed, the Northern General did not punish them.

 

However, on the return trip, they made it in just 17 days.

 

Zhao Beichuan was in the fastest group. Aside from him, there were a few brothers from the Gao family and three from the Wang family.

 

During those 17 days, they barely rested. They started walking before dawn and huddled together at night to prevent wild animal attacks.

 

After traveling day and night, they finally returned home on the last day of July.

 

Zhao Beichuan finished washing his body and began washing his hair. After such a long time without washing, his hair had become matted with sweat and dirt, forming balls. He didn’t know how many lice had developed inside. Lu Yao loved cleanliness, and he couldn’t let him see this.

 

Inside the house, Xiao Nian, Xiao Dou, and Lu Miao huddled together, trembling. They whispered, “Sis-in-law, has the thief left?”

 

“No, he hasn’t. You stay inside; I’ll keep watch.”

 

The more Lu Yao watched, the more something felt off. If it was just to take a bath, why would the person climb over someone else’s wall?

 

Under the starlight, Lu Yao squinted at the figure in the yard. His side profile seemed a little like Zhao Beichuan’s, but his body was too thin, which made him hesitate to recognize him.

 

Until the person stood up, naked, and Zhao Beichuan swayed back and forth. Lu Yao’s face flushed with heat, and he finally recognized him. This was the person he had been longing for!

 

“Zhao Beichuan!”

 

“Ah!” Zhao Beichuan was startled and hurriedly put his pants on.

 

Lu Yao dropped the kitchen knife and ran over like the wind, hugging him tightly. It felt like a dream, so unreal. He pressed his face against his chest, hearing his heart pounding like a drum. Only then did he confirm this wasn’t a dream. He really had come back.

 

Unable to control his emotions, he cried out loud. All the frustration that had been building up inside him for the past days was suddenly released, and he cried so much that he nearly couldn’t breathe.

 

Zhao Beichuan held him close, wishing he could press him into his body. “Lu Yao, stop crying. I’m back.”

 

The children in the house heard and rushed out. Xiao Nian and Xiao Dou saw Zhao Beichuan and started crying loudly.

 

“Big brother! Big brother, you’re back! We missed you so much…”

 

Zhao Beichuan couldn’t control his emotions either and shed tears. This trip had truly been a close call. He had nearly not made it back to see them. He reached out and pulled all three of them into his arms like a protective mother hen, not knowing how to cherish them enough.

 

Lu Miao stood beside them, also in tears. It was so good that the brother-in-law had returned safely. These days, he had seen his third brother’s mood become increasingly depressed, and he was afraid that if something happened to the brother-in-law, his third brother might follow him.

 

The cries in the yard were so loud that they woke up the people from the neighboring Liu family.

 

Old Master Liu grabbed a stick and walked over to knock on the door. “Lu Yao, what’s going on in there?”

 

Zhao Beichuan patted the children, quickly went over to open the door, and said, “Uncle, it’s me, I’m back.”

 

“Ah, Dachuan’s back! Are you all done with your service?”

 

“Mm.”

 

“Where are my two sons?” Old Master Liu asked anxiously.

 

“Brother Liu and Brother Er are behind. They should be back in a day or two. Don’t worry.”

 

“That’s good, that’s good!” Seeing that the family had so much to say, he didn’t want to be a hindrance, so he hurriedly went back to tell his family the good news.

 

Lu Yao took a while to calm down. Sniffling, he said, “Come in quickly. Why didn’t you knock when you came back? You snuck in by climbing over the wall. I thought a thief had come.”

 

“I didn’t want to disturb your rest. Also, I’m covered in dirt and oil. I didn’t want to stink you all out.”

 

Lu Yao punched him. “You heartless man, I was almost worried to death, and you still care about these things?”

 

Zhao Beichuan smiled and didn’t say anything. The family entered the house together.

 

Lu Yao took a dry towel and began drying his hair. The three children couldn’t sleep and sat beside him, eagerly watching, all ready to talk.

 

They decided to take a day off tomorrow. The shop would be closed, and Xiao Dou wouldn’t be going to school. Tonight, they could stay up as long as they wanted.

 

“Is there any food left at home?” Zhao Beichuan was a bit hungry. After traveling so much, he had only eaten two meals a day, and he was really craving Lu Yao’s cooking.

 

“Yes, I’ll go heat it up for you.” Lu Yao got up to go to the kitchen.

 

Lu Miao stopped him. “Third Brother, stay here with Brother-in-law. I’ll heat the food.”

 

“Alright, boil ten eggs and make sure you all have some too.”

 

Lu Yao opened his mouth first. “Weren’t you going to Fan Yang to repair the Ling Palace? Why did you change course to Yingzhou?”

 

“This is a long story,” Zhao Beichuan said as he took a sip of water and began explaining in detail. “That day, we left Qiushui Town and traveled for five or six days before reaching the city of Pingzhou. The place was so big! The city gate was six or seven zhang(65-76feet) high!”

 

“Wow!” The two children exclaimed, unable to imagine what that city gate looked like.

 

“The officials told us to rest outside the city while they went in to submit official documents. Who would have thought that, just then, they needed to send a batch of grain and supplies to the border, so they directly conscripted us.”

 

Xiao Nian asked, “Big brother, did you really go to the border?”

 

“Mm, I went to a place in the northern part of Yingzhou called Yankou.”

 

“Wow! Did you see the barbarians?”

 

“We did.”

 

Lu Yao’s heart tightened. “Is there still war at the border?”

 

Zhao Beichuan shook his head. “No, we didn’t encounter any fighting there. We only ran into a group of Khitan cavalry right after entering Yingzhou on the official road.”

 

“Were you injured?”

 

“No, not at all. It was just exhausting. I wore out three pairs of shoes. By the way, I even received a reward from the Prince.” Zhao Beichuan quickly took out his bag and showed the heavy silver inside.

 

The silver, minted in the shape of dumplings, had the official seal on it. Each ingot weighed fifty taels, and the six ingots totaled three hundred taels, weighing over twenty jin!

 

Lu Yao was stunned. “What did you do? Why did the official reward you with so much silver?”

 

“That day we encountered barbarian cavalry. I casually grabbed a Khitan rider, and by chance, he turned out to be their leader. The prince rewarded me with this much silver.” Although he spoke lightly, Lu Yao could still hear the danger in his words. She tightened her grip on his hand, her eyes reddening again.

 

The pot in the outer room started to boil, and Lu Miao called them over to eat.

 

There was some corn porridge and eggs in the pot, and the children were hungry too, so Lu Yao called them over to have some.

 

Zhao Beichuan couldn’t wait for the porridge to cool and blew on it a couple of times before gulping it down. His tongue even got burned, but he was so hungry, feeling as though his chest was sticking to his back, his stomach twisting painfully.

 

Lu Yao hurriedly mixed in some cold water for him and peeled some eggs to add to his bowl.

 

He drank three bowls of porridge in one go and ate six eggs. Lu Yao didn’t dare to let him eat more, fearing it might harm his stomach.

 

Zhao Beichuan put down his bowl and sighed deeply. “It’s so good to be home.”

 

Xiao Nian and Xiao Dou each ate an egg, while Lu Miao, not hungry, didn’t eat anything. After the excitement of the moment passed, the children all started to feel sleepy. Lu Yao sent them to the west room to rest, telling them not to get up too early tomorrow.

 

Once the children had left, Lu Yao said, “Beichuan, tell me the truth, how did you get this silver?” He didn’t believe the story of casually grabbing a leader.

 

The Khitan people were fierce and warlike, nearly unmatched on horseback. How could he possibly pull one off his horse so easily?

 

Zhao Beichuan wiped his mouth and pulled him into the room. They undressed and quietly embraced each other.

 

Lu Yao stroked his thin cheek. “If you don’t want to talk, I won’t ask.”

 

Zhao Beichuan tightly closed his eyes, his body slightly trembling, and suppressed sobs filled the air. He truly didn’t want to recall that day, but it seemed to be etched in his mind and he could never forget it. Every time he closed his eyes, the faces of those who had died appeared before him.

 

“So many… so many died… Lu Yao, so many died! Some died from exhaustion on the way, some fell off the cliffs and got crushed by the carts, some were shot by the soldiers… even more died at the hands of the Khitan.”

 

Lu Yao’s heart tightened, and he reached out to gently touch his protruding spine to comfort him. “It’s over now, it’s over. We’re home now.”

 

It took a long time before Zhao Beichuan calmed down. “There were 1,260 of us when we set out, and less than 800 came back.”

 

“So many died!”

 

“In our village, I know at least ten people who died. Liushu Village lost even more, and seven of them were killed for trying to escape from forced labor.”

 

Lu Yao said, “I know about that. It just so happened that Dahuang was sick, and I went to Liushu Village to ask Old Master Wang to come check on him. That’s when I learned that you changed course and went to the frontier.”

 

Zhao Beichuan continued, “In your Lu family village, many people died too. During the mountain crossing, a cart rope snapped, and the cart rolled down the mountain, killing seven or eight people. Some others were injured by the cart, and we’re not sure if they’ll survive.”

 

“Heavens…”

 

“Most of the people died when they encountered the Khitan cavalry. Those Khitan soldiers are so fierce, charging in with their blades, they didn’t care whether you begged for mercy. We had no choice, so I took the grain from the cart and used it to block in front of us, hoping to stop their charge.”

 

“By chance, two Khitan soldiers charged at us, wanting to fight hand-to-hand. Fortunately, you had put a small knife in my bag, so I took it and killed one of the barbarians!”

 

Lu Yao was startled and hugged him. “What happened next?”

 

“Later, others came to help me: the Qin brothers, Gao Qinghe, Gao Qinghai, and Brother Tian. They used sticks to beat the other Khitan soldier to death.”

 

“You said you pulled a Khitan leader off his horse, how did that happen?”

 

“Actually, I didn’t pull him off the horse. He was charging at us, and I grabbed the horse’s leg and flipped the horse over.”

 

“!” Lu Yao was shocked and sat up.

 

“The man broke his neck when he fell, and the other barbarians fled. After that, I don’t know what happened. Uncle Zhao said I was unconscious for three or four days on the cart. When we got to the military camp, they called a doctor to treat me. When I woke up, I even saw the Zhenbei King, who asked if I wanted to stay in the military camp. Since I knew you didn’t want me to stay, I refused, and he rewarded me with all that silver.”

 

“After that, the officials gave us food and told us to return home.”

 

Lu Yao listened to him and then laid back into his arms. “This journey was so hard. Now, just rest and recover, don’t think about the past.”

 

“Mm.” Zhao Beichuan was extremely tired, buried his head in Lu Yao’s neck, smelling the scent he had longed for day and night, and soon fell asleep.

 

Lu Yao couldn’t sleep, feeling more worry than joy.

 

He remembered that people who had been to the battlefield often suffer from post-traumatic stress, and he was afraid Zhao Beichuan might fall into that in the future, unable to escape.

 

The next day, Lu Guangsheng came back. As soon as he entered the yard, he shouted, “Lu Yao, did Beichuan come back?”

 

Lu Yao was already up, scrubbing pots and making breakfast. “He came back, last night.”

 

“Oh my, you scared me to death!” Lu Guangsheng sat down on the ground, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

 

When it was still dark this morning, several people who had been out working returned to the village. One of them was a neighbor from the back yard. The crying was so loud it woke everyone up, so Lu Guangsheng went to take a look.

 

What he found out from that person shocked him. This trip had been so dangerous, and their neighbors Lu Xi and his father had died along the way! Along the way, they encountered barbarian troops, and many died or were injured.

 

Lu Guangsheng asked if they had seen Zhao Beichuan from Wangou Village or Wang Youtian from Liushu Village.

 

The person was so frightened he could barely think about other villages, shaking his head, saying he didn’t know.

 

When Lu Guangsheng heard this, his legs went weak, and he hurried home to tell his wife before heading alone to the town.

 

During the trip, he thought a lot. What if his son-in-law really died? What would Lu Yao do… The more he thought about it, the more miserable he felt, crying all the way.

 

Fortunately, everything was fine!

 

Lu Guangsheng entered the house and saw Zhao Beichuan still sleeping, his face sunburned black, and his body so thin he looked almost unrecognizable.

 

Lu Yao was about to wake him, but Lu Guangsheng stopped him. “Let him sleep, he’s exhausted from the journey.”

 

The two of them left the bedroom, and Lu Guangsheng said, “As long as he’s safe, it’s fine. I heard many died this time.”

 

“Mm, last night Beichuan told me. They started with 1,200 people, but only about 700 or 800 returned.”

 

Lu Guangsheng wiped his nose and tears. “I’ll go to Liushu Village later and see if Youtian has come back. Lu Yun is still pregnant, and if something happens, I don’t even want to think about it.”

 

“Alright.” Lu Yao knew he was worried and picked up a dozen eggs for him to take back.

 

Zhao Beichuan had come back, and for the past few days, he hadn’t been in the mood to earn money. The chickens he bought had been sitting too long and were beginning to spoil, so it was best to eat them up now.

 

As soon as Lu Guangsheng left, the children woke up. Xiao Dou crawled up, the first thing he did was go to the east room to check on his older brother. When he saw Zhao Beichuan peacefully asleep on the kang, he finally felt relieved.

 

Xiao Nian tugged at him, trying not to wake Zhao Beichuan, and the two children sat by the door murmuring, “It feels like a dream. When I woke up just now, I thought I had dreamed that big brother came back.”

 

Lu Yao couldn’t help but laugh. “Who says it’s not a dream?” It really felt like a dream. Just yesterday, he was thinking about it, and today, he was back.He couldn’t resist checking on him several times this morning, afraid that this dream would wake up.

 

He soaked Zhao Beichuan’s dirty clothes and shoes in water. Just looking at his clothes told her how hard the journey had been. His pants were almost worn out, and the sleeves were frayed with the cotton thread flying off. There was no way to repair them anymore, so he decided to cut them into rags.

 

Twenty taels of broken silver fell out of the clothes, and Lu Yao quickly picked them up and stuffed them into his pocket, almost forgetting about it.

 

By noon, the two brothers from the neighboring Liu family also returned. It was inevitable that there would be loud crying for a while. This joyful weeping didn’t annoy anyone; Lu Yao only felt warmth in his heart. Everyone had returned, and it was enough that they were safe.

 

Zhao Beichuan slept for a whole day and night. He got up once in the middle to use the bathroom, then went back to sleep until the next morning when he finally woke up.

 

He reached out and touched the person beside him, feeling the warm touch, and Zhao Beichuan closed his eyes in peace.

 

We’re home… it’s so good to be home.

 

Lu Yao mumbled and leaned closer to him, closing his eyes and saying, “You’re awake.”

 

“Mm.”

 

“Husband, I missed you so much~”

 

Zhao Beichuan missed Lu Yao even more, so much it was driving him crazy. He gently kissed the corner of his mouth, slowly prying open his lips, intertwining his tongue with his.

 

Lu Yao sighed as he returned the kiss, saliva flowing down the corner of his mouth. The sticky, wet sound of their kisses made both of them lose control of their growing heat.

 

In no time, they had removed all their clothes. Lu Yao pushed him away, burying his head into the blanket.

 

“Ugh…” Zhao Beichuan closed his eyes, the veins on his forehead bulging.

 

After a while, he couldn’t help but pull the person back out, kissing him deeply again. They entwined like vines.

 

The familiar rhythm almost brought tears to Lu Yao’s eyes. He held Zhao Beichuan’s shoulder, swaying and rocking, his eyes dazed.

 

In this moment, the ship that had been drifting away from home finally stopped, docking into its own harbor.