The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 455: Almost There

Chapter 455: Almost There

Xu Hu Zhe’s perspective:

With each passing day, the terrain became more and more sweltering. It was clearly fall, the peak of harvest, but winter was coming soon. Living in the central plains of Donghua must be difficult.

Xu Hu Zhe felt disheartened by the weather. What would it be like to live in the South? Would it be hotter or not?

The weather wasn’t the biggest issue he faced. It was more like a gateway into the chaos that seemed to be descending on their kingdom and continent.

Since Xu Feng...disappeared...Xuan Jian and Xuan Yang hadn’t pushed him to the side like he first believed. Instead, both men had allowed him into their conversations more and more.

Yes, he trained with Xuan Jian’s men, he even considered them like brothers—stronger than any connection he’d had with the ’brothers’ he’d gained on the streets of Yilin—but it was more than that.

Xuan Yang and Xuan Jian seemed to include him in discussions that only Jie and Bo were invited to previously. They would be leaving Donghua and Dongzhou. It was what was best for Da Long and Xiao Long, but before then, there would likely be chaos in Dongzhou.

Instead of leaving him behind, they were giving him the option to leave with them and stay with Xu Feng’s children. He was taken under their wings in a way that made Xu Hu Zhe understand why Xu Feng fell in love with both men.

It was a love Xu Feng was willing to die for. The children were unexpected, but there was no regret on Xu Feng’s face the last time he saw him, only sadness he couldn’t stay longer.

Thinking of the two sleeping gers in the carriage Xu Hu Zhe’s ears reddened. Not one, but two. He was in a strange relationship with both gers...

Since the night they saw the Night Flowers blossom, things had changed.

Xu Zeng was, well he was Xu Zeng— he did as he pleased and seemed to be comfortable with this strange new situation. He was relaxed in the new territory they had entered. The next town they stopped at, he simply requested a bigger bed instead of two separate beds...

And being the fool he was, Xu Hu Zhe had obliged the silver-haired lunatic. Every night for the last week, they’d— all three of them— shared a bed in any town or village they rested at. A man and two gers, all unmarried...

While Xu Zeng was generally an anomaly— one that he found himself consistently indulging— Bai Mo was different, or at least, he should have been. Instead, after the first day, Bai Mo had turned into a stranger.

It wasn’t like he’d changed completely, but the restrained and respectable noble of Yilin Town was almost as brazen as Xu Zeng. It all started with the kiss he requested. At first, Xu Hu Zhe simply acted on impulse— Xu Zeng asked for a kiss he gave him one, Bai Mo asked for a kiss, and he also gave him one.

It was already too late when his brain realized that request wasn’t quite normal. Maybe the request wasn’t even for him. Bai Mo could have been requesting a kiss from Xu Zeng. Xu Hu Zhe would never know because he didn’t have the heart to ask.

But somehow, nightly kisses had become normal between them— behind closed doors of course, at the very least he and Bai Mo weren’t allowing a certain silver-haired rogue to corrupt them to that level.

"I should have rented a bigger carriage." The sound of Bai Mo’s muffled voice came from within the carriage.

The two sleeping within were now awake it seemed. Xu Hu Zhe fought the urge to strain to listen in on their conversation or even join it.

The first day of their trip, he’d been less vigilant and allowed them to be tracked by someone for some time. Although he hadn’t caught up to the person, Donghua— no, it should be all of Dongzhou according to his brother’s journeys— was in a state of unrest.

Bandits were a serious concern, and it seemed like that first day, they’d caught the attention of a group. It was likely a medium or large group because, over the last seven days, there would be occasions when they were being watched.

It wasn’t just Xu Hu Zhe who felt the lingering gaze as they moved toward their destination, it was also Xu Zeng.

Because of this, Xu Hu Zhe wouldn’t let either of the two gers out of the carriage until they stopped their travel for the night.

If something happened, he was willing to protect the two gers to his last breath, he was a semi-trained martial artist after all. Although Xu Zeng had a higher bloodline and worked ferociously with vines, Xu Hu Zhe was protective of the ger.

That was his friend’s younger brother, his... ’kissing friend’ who was a friend in truth, and a potential partner, and someone he was in charge of their safety— Xuan Jian had trusted him with that responsibility.

He also didn’t want anyone to see either ger and have any nefarious ideas. Still, even in the most plain of carriages, they were being tracked.

Every night, he and Xu Zeng would take turns watching the night at their inn, but no one had made a move, but the tracking persisted. It was frustrating.

Xu Hu Zhe wasn’t at all worried about being high-jacked, he was actually hoping it would happen sooner rather than later. He had precious cargo—two rather attractive gers, in his opinion, with obvious immortal bloodline heritage. One was an immortal beast, but the bandits wouldn’t know that.

It was better if they came to high-jack them, and he dealt with the problem cleanly without the silver hair and fox ears being seen by those with nefarious purposes.

They had purposefully stopped at larger villages and towns and stayed at more expensive inns because of this. Normally, he would try to save a copper coin or two, but in this case, it wasn’t worth it.

With the pace he’d been moving at, they would reach Sun Village today and they still hadn’t been cornered...

The thoughts in his head went wild. What if the bandits followed them all the way back to Nanshan Estate? Would that be better or worse?

If it was a large group of bandits wouldn’t that be dangerous to lead them back to their home? They had women, gers, and children, as the majority population. It was very troubling indeed.

Xu Hu Zhe sighed, he hadn’t noticed anyone trailing them at all today. They would have to enact, Xu Zeng’s plan—they would sleep outside of Sun Village tonight. Staying in the carriage at night in the "wilderness" would attract anyone following them to make their move.

Xu Hu Zhe was way more stressed about their well-being than whatever conversation the two gers were currently having.

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Xu Zeng’s Perspective:

The carriage ride seemed to last forever. As they’d gotten closer and closer to Sun Village, the more uncomfortable his chest became.

He wasn’t too excited that his nephews were currently dormant in their shells, but that wasn’t what was causing the feeling in his chest.

He also didn’t like being restricted to the carriage. His legs were numb, and he wanted to stretch them. If the bandits hadn’t lost interest in their carriage, they should just make their move already!

Xu Zeng wanted to take out the uncomfortable feeling on them. They weren’t the reason for his discomfort, but he didn’t mind beating a few bandits black and blue.

He hoped they would try something under the cover of nightfall. Even the idea of unleashing all of his pent-up frustration on the potential bandits in a few hours didn’t make Xu Zeng feel better.

The silver-haired ger repositioned himself on the bench once more. There was nothing wrong with the bench either, it was comfortable enough, but for some reason, nothing was comfortable today.

"I should have rented a bigger carriage." Momo’s voice drew Xu Zeng’s attention form the strange feeling he couldn’t dispel.

"No, this is perfect."

It was true, but the look in Bai Mo’s face showed he didn’t fully believe Xu Zeng’s words. He wasn’t sure when the fox awoke, but he didn’t like that look on his face.

"When I came to Nanshan, it was in a similar carriage, my first one. It was the beginning of all this." Xu Zeng made an all-encompassing gesture with his hands.

"In only one year, things have changed so much. I now have two nephews, two brothers-in-law, three fellow Xus and I’ve met so many interesting people." This last bit was more of a contemplation aloud, it wasn’t meant for the fox’s ears.

As Momo Blushed, Xu Zeng could feel his face brighten on its own. He wasn’t sure why or what made the other react, but it was a good reaction.

"I’m glad to have met you." Momo started, his eyes darting to him and away a bit shy. "I’m very sorry about your parents, but no one will harm you. Your brother isn’t here, but I’ll be your guardian."

Guardian? Xu Zeng felt strange about that wording.