Chapter 149: Little Wan Peeks at the Injury
Wei Wanlan was dizzy, his vision pitch black. He sat up from the ground, ignoring the urge to lie back on the bed. Supporting himself on the ground with his arms, he listened carefully to the commotion outside the tent.
The chaotic sound of light cavalry entering the camp had stopped.
This place was too far from the central command tent. He couldn’t hear specifically what had happened. The military camp placed high importance on discipline; the unrest was only momentary, and soon the Yin Mountain camp returned to silence.
But the silence did not extend to Wei Wanlan’s thoughts.
If one had to describe Wei Wanlan’s feelings upon hearing the word “injured,” one could only say his imagination was working overtime again, exaggerating the Regent’s injury to infinite proportions.
Wei Wanlan’s small face crumbled immediately.
—Was it broken bones or tendons?
—Could he have been stabbed in the eye by a stray arrow on the battlefield, or had his internal organs pierced?
—Excessive blood loss wouldn’t do either. In this era, there are no blood transfusions and no tetanus vaccines…
He liked the Regent so much.
Wuwuwu Regent QAQ.
The image of Su Jingzhi in his head instantly turned into one covered in cold sweat, pale-skinned, about to breathe his last breath and leave him. He could even seemingly see Tang Tuan pacing back and forth in the central command tent, thinking about how to report the death to the court.
All of Su Jingzhi’s pain seemed to transfer to Wei Wanlan instantly.
Wei Wanlan felt like he was about to die.
Arms propping himself up, gasping for hot air, he staggered up and lifted the felt curtain of the tent. At this time, he had no time to consider that exposing his identity might lead to “punishment” by the Regent.
He wanted to see him.
He wanted to see the Regent!
Running a few steps out of the tent, Wei Wanlan held his breath, weaving between the mushroom-like tents. The moon was dark and the night cool; he couldn’t see the path clearly, his feet drifting as if stepping on cotton.
Fortunately, the central command tent was much larger than ordinary tents, like the biggest white mushroom in the forest. Su Jingzhi was settled there. Wei Wanlan approached the commander’s tent from afar. Nearby, patrolling soldiers holding long spears walked past…
He still instinctively hid in the shadows.
Carefully catching his breath, he pressed his back tightly against a military tent.
Several long shadows were cast into his field of vision. The shadows of the guards arrived first, followed by their movements, and then the people themselves:
“Sigh. When the cavalry returned to camp, General Tang suddenly shouted ‘The Regent is injured.’ Half the camp probably heard it. That was really scary just now!”
Wei Wanlan’s burning ears twitched weakly. Gathering intelligence, he listened very intently, quite adapting to local customs after joining the army.
The guards walked past through the passage between the tents:
“General Tang is also eager to protect his master. Who doesn’t know that General Tang was only twelve when he joined the army, following the Regent through life and death? How many times has the Regent picked him back up from a pile of dead bodies…”
“But General Tang really deserves to be punished,” a soldier sighed. “Speaking seriously, this is called shaking the army’s morale!”
“Fined three months’ salary as per regulation, hahahaha.”
“Say, do you think General Tang, who stays in the military camp all day, has ever actually received his salary?”
“Worth considering!”
The patrolling guards walked further and further away until their voices and shadows became faint.
Only then did Wei Wanlan dare to lower his perked-up ears, though he was still listening attentively.
However, from the words of that squad of guards just now, he could more or less analyze the Regent’s injury: it didn’t seem to be very serious.
—At least he still had the leisure to punish Tang Tuan.
It probably wasn’t life-threatening, right?
Right?
Wei Wanlan blinked his doe eyes under the brilliant starry sky of the Yin Mountain camp. Suddenly, the instinct for self-preservation gained the upper hand… If the Regent was in a fit of anger, having suffered a superficial wound but having the camp disturbed, leading him to fine Tang Tuan…
If We, the little Emperor, suddenly appeared without warning, messing up the mindset of everyone in the camp, would the Regent want to “severely deal with” him again?
Don’t tickle Our feet!
Dame (No good), he would take off We’s socks. It’s super ticklish; he pinches We’s paw-like feet.
A certain little Emperor turned to distance himself from the central command tent, as if his feet were greased, wanting to run as far as possible. From afar, he heard the patrolling guards still discussing the matter, their voices drifting with the wind:
“Ay, the military doctor said it was just an injury to the bladder. General Tang was making too much of a fuss.”
What?
As if the air stagnated for a moment, Wei Wanlan froze like tofu in brine upon hearing those words—
Injured where?!
Injured in the “bladder”?
Was it the place he was thinking of?
How painful would it be to get poked there!
From a young age, boys were taught to protect that place. He learned in biology class that area seemed related to “standing at attention” (getting an erection). Just like the emotion when meeting someone you like, it was also related to “standing at attention.”
Now that the Regent’s bladder was injured, would it be… that when he met someone he liked, he couldn’t stand at attention anymore?
Shouldn’t that be a big deal?
Was that a place that could be injured casually?
At that time, Wei Wanlan still wasn’t quite clear on what exactly “standing at attention” implied doing.
He just felt that the parts the Regent should have, he must have, and the parts that should be normal must be normal. If he couldn’t stand at attention, he would become somewhat abnormal. He had to confirm the Regent’s injury quickly. If it needed treatment, it had to be treated immediately. The Regent must be cured.
The Regent was going to become Eunuch Su!
Wuwuwu QAQ.
With a groggy head, Wei Wanlan opened the Wise Ruler System and found an item that could help him sneak into the central command tent:
Invisibility Cloak.
The Invisibility Cloak was a time-limited item. Its function might have been directly plagiarized from a cartoon, and clumsily at that. The cloak’s style and pattern fit the ancient political intrigue genre, made with a pale ink-wash cloud pattern.
Wei Wanlan put on the cloak and pulled up the hood. The large cloak swallowed his small frame. Under his bangs, his doe eyes darted around.
His lungs hurt from the fever. Dazedly, he saw the item timer in the lower right corner only had fifteen minutes. The second hand was jumping. Wei Wanlan’s heart tightened. Using a gust of wind as cover, he lifted the felt curtain and drilled into the tent.
It was already somewhat cold outside, so he could sense the slightly higher temperature inside the tent.
The interior of the main tent was huge. The vaulted ceiling was much higher than Wei Wanlan’s small tent. At a glance, the first thing he saw was the war map. The meeting area was empty of people; there was no military council tonight.
Wei Wanlan stood on tiptoes. Although bolstered by the item, he was still guilty and walked gingerly.
Su Jingzhi’s tent was very quiet.
Looking around, there were no servants left, which comforted him but inevitably raised threads of worry. Was there no one to take care of him even when injured?
He thought again—probably because the Regent was injured in the bladder. He cared about his face, and that place wasn’t good for people to see, so he sent everyone away, right?
It must be so.
Wei Wanlan was even more worried.
So he walked further into the military tent.
The main tent was divided into two areas by a huge mahogany partition. Beyond the council area was where the Regent lived.
Wei Wanlan took a few deep breaths. His lungs still hurt from the fever, and he twisted his foot, almost falling. Fortunately, he held onto the frame of a screen to stand steady. In his daze, he smelled moisture.
“Who is outside?”
It was the Regent’s voice!
Su Jingzhi’s tone was vigilant, and Wei Wanlan’s heart skipped a beat.
Su Jingzhi was simply too sharp. Even though he used a cheat item, he still couldn’t seem to escape the other’s eyes. Wei Wanlan felt both joy and worry—he wanted to hear him say a few more words, but feared he would uncover the cloak directly and catch him red-handed.
Severely dealt with…
No QAQ!!!
Every time he was “severely dealt with,” he would be left powerless to resist. Wei Wanlan still had lingering fears. He quickly lowered his head to ensure the countdown in the lower right corner was continuing. Only then did he dare to tentatively poke his head out and stick out his tongue at the Regent, being slightly naughty.
The Regent had no reaction.
The vigilance in his expression actually lessened significantly compared to before.
Nice! He couldn’t see!
Wei Wanlan felt a little smug. Only now did he dare to properly examine Su Jingzhi. He saw that the other party had completely removed his military armor, wearing dark innerwear embroidered with silver patterns underneath. The clothes were very familiar; they were exactly the same as what he wore when staying overnight at Zichen Palace.
Then—
In the deep shadows inside the military tent, he saw a wooden tub. Su Jingzhi walked over. Wei Wanlan’s ears perked up!
He. Was. Going. To. Bathe.
He had already taken off his upper garment.
In their two or three intimate encounters, he hadn’t seen his body. He had seen it when treating wounds in Yichuan Village, but that time the Regent was lying down.
The Regent standing before him looked far more imposing than when lying down. Under the dim candlelight of the military tent, Su Jingzhi’s broad back was revealed. His shoulders were straight, and the contour of his shoulders contrasted with his taut, narrow waist, forming a perfect inverted triangle.
The muscles on his back were distinct, bearing both old and new scars.
It was a body full of explosive power.
“…”
Wei Wanlan’s throat bobbed. He felt his fever burn even hotter, actually burning the rims of his doe eyes red.
Back when they weren’t boyfriends, Wei Wanlan did think Su Jingzhi had a good figure, but he certainly wouldn’t have wanted to get close to him, hug him, or want his head rubbed and face kissed just by looking at a back view.
Wei Wanlan walked over wearing the invisibility cloak. Getting closer.
This was a perfect opportunity. He didn’t believe Su Jingzhi could bathe without taking off his trousers. As long as he revealed the part Wei Wanlan wanted to investigate when entering the water, Wei Wanlan could confirm exactly how badly he was injured.
Steps probed forward again.
Doe eyes fixed on Su Jingzhi, he saw his hand resting on the rim of the tub, testing the water temperature. The movement hesitated for a moment. With no further action following for a long time, Wei Wanlan felt it was strange, so anxious he almost went over to pull off the Regent’s pants.
The little mischievous thought only brewed in his head for a second, and then, a splash of water swept past him!
Splash…
Su Jingzhi had actually scooped up clear water and splashed it towards the screen to test!
Wei Wanlan was so scared he twisted around to run. He was timid to begin with, and now he was like a startled small animal, completely forgetting he was still wearing a disguise.
He stumbled, crashing right into the mahogany partition, making a dull thud. This confirmed the disturbance inside the tent. Behind him, he heard the Regent draw his blade!
Zheng—
The hum of the blade carried a biting killing intent.
Wei Wanlan felt a chill down his spine, so scared his legs went soft. He ran in panic. The countdown in the lower right of his vision had dwindled to only two minutes left without him noticing. He fell, his knee throbbing with dull pain!
And he really couldn’t just undo his disguise and appear before Su Jingzhi, or be discovered by Su Jingzhi appearing out of thin air.
That would be too magical!
He hadn’t thought of how to explain to the Regent that he had transmigrated into a book, not possessed a body.
Wei Wanlan ran with all his might.
His ears were filled with the sound of rushing wind, his eardrums aching from the fever. But for some reason, even though he had completely hidden his tracks with the invisibility cloak, the Regent’s pursuit behind him was getting closer and closer.
It was footprints.
When he ran, he left shallow footprints on the ground. How sharp was Su Jingzhi? He felt like prey that couldn’t escape!
Wuwuwu.
Fifteen seconds.
Fourteen seconds.
…
Ten seconds.
Nine…
The time-limited item was about to expire.
QAQ!!!
Wei Wanlan’s little brain spun fast. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit him. He hopped in circles on the spot, creating a chaotic mess of footprints pointing in no clear direction. He took off his shoes and ran, so the footprints disappeared. His paw-like feet were pricked by stones mixed in the grass, painful and itchy.
Seeing a tent with a gap, he drilled inside.
Fortunately, Su Jingzhi was confused; he didn’t catch up. Wei Wanlan revealed his form inside the tent, squatting on the ground clutching his chest and panting. His heart beat like a heavy hammer, thump-thump.
Sweat dripped from his forehead.
Wei Wanlan rested for a while. His breathing calmed slightly. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, needing to leave someone else’s tent quickly. He had accidentally intruded into a large communal sleeping tent. Inside, snoring was thunderous; there were at least twenty or thirty people. The air was stuffy and didn’t smell very good.
He lifted the curtain and went outside. It was dead of night, the sky over Yin Mountain Camp filled with stars.
Under the dome of the sky was a tiny Wei Wanlan.
The skin on the soles of his feet was tender. Without shoes, he simply couldn’t walk half a step… Even if he could walk, he didn’t know where to go. Because after escaping Su Jingzhi’s pursuit range, Wei Wanlan realized he had long lost his way and couldn’t find the Prince of Cheng’en’s tent at all.
—Here, except for the main tent, all the tents looked the same.
It was hard to say if any Emperor in history had ever been this pathetic.
The pathetic little Emperor sat on the ground sickly, surrounded by piles of copy-pasted tents. His mouth turned down, his nose trembling. He felt more and more wronged, wanting to cry the more he thought about it.
Why did all the unlucky things happen to him?
He had successfully transported the winter supplies to the camp. He showed his hand; he wasn’t pretending anymore. Now he wanted company, and he missed the Regent.
It was so uncomfortable. He had never suffered so much; he was about to collapse.
Expeditionary Army Yin Mountain Camp, Central Command Tent.
Su Jingzhi had just returned from investigating a suspected spy outside, hanging his saber back on the tent wall. Just as the felt curtain fell, he heard a strange noise outside.
He thought it was that spy and was about to lift the curtain to capture the person.
“…”
But what met his eyes was a pitiful little Emperor. His face was dirty, his body flushed with an unnatural red heat, his knees scraped, and the shoes on his feet were gone.
He reached out his arms to him, but curled up his two paw-like feet.
Su Jingzhi was stunned, thinking he was hallucinating from missing him too much. He stared at Wei Wanlan in disbelief, unblinking.
After a long while, his voice trembled:
“Little… Wan.”
“Wuwuwu…”
His sweetheart suddenly crashed into his arms headfirst, looking so aggrieved as if the whole world was against him.
Wei Wanlan hugged Su Jingzhi’s waist tightly while crying, hugging very tight, and said hoarsely:
“Sorry Regent, We surrender. It was We being naughty coming to find you. We feel so terrible, are We going to die QAQ.”
T/n: So clingy, so cute, so pitiful ~
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