Zhou Hu stared blankly when he saw the person, as if he had seen him a long time ago. The heartache he felt today returned.
"When will he wake up?"
"If he doesn't have a fever tonight, he'll wake up tomorrow morning. Someone needs to stay and watch him, so we know if he has a fever in the middle of the night," Ye Qingcheng replied.
"Take him to my tent. I'll watch him personally tonight," Zhou Hu said without hesitation.
Ye Qingcheng looked at him with a strange expression. Of course, she was surprised. The original novel described the interactions between these two as full of passion, and Ye Qingcheng herself was a huge fan of their pairing when she read it, but that was after the boy became an adult.
Right now, the boy in front of her was emaciated and malnourished, clearly a minor. Zhou Hu was too much of a beast.
Zhou Hu's gaze shifted multiple times as he looked at the Royal Consort. Finally, even a complete blockhead would understand what the Royal Consort's eyes conveyed. His old face turned red.
"Royal Consort, what are you thinking! It's purely for care, no, that's wrong, it's for surveillance," Zhou Hu explained hastily, his eyes avoiding hers.
"Alright, alright, surveillance, surveillance," Ye Qingcheng agreed perfunctorily.
He had said that to the Royal Consort, but looking at the small figure before him, covered in wounds, sleeping restlessly on his bed, muttering "spare me, let me go, please" in his sleep, as if enduring inhuman suffering.
Zhou Hu gently patted his back, softly comforting him, "Don't be afraid, I'm here, no one will hurt you."
Le Hu's nightmare continued. In his dream, he went to the underworld, and the King of Hell questioned him about poisoning loyal officials, causing the people to lose a beloved general. In the dream, Zhou Hu's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears bled as he choked Le Hu, asking why he had repaid kindness with enmity after Le Hu had saved his life. "I regret it, I regret saving you."
"How can someone shed tears in their sleep? Having a nightmare?" Zhou Hu gently wiped away his tears. The man who usually wielded a sword weighing dozens of pounds was now so tender he could blind the dog eyes of his old partner, General Deng.
Zhou Hu barely slept all night, afraid that if he dozed off, he might miss Le Hu's fever.
In the early morning, accompanied by the shouts of soldiers during their drills, Le Hu finally woke up.
What met his eyes was not his nightmarish medicinal stove, but the familiar tent ceiling he had seen countless times in his previous life. Le Hu knew that Zhou Hu had saved him again.
"Zhou Hu," his voice was very weak.
As the sun rose, Zhou Hu touched Le Hu's forehead; there was no fever. He was dozing off when he heard his name being called, and he opened his eyes.
"Are you calling my name?"
"I..." How could he explain to him so that he would believe me?
Before he could continue, he was interrupted by the voice of a soldier outside the tent, "General, General, are you awake? Doctor Ye is here."
Zhou Hu got out of bed, tidied his clothes slightly after sleeping in them all night, and replied, "Please come in, Doctor Ye."
Ye Qingcheng saw that Zhou Hu was still wearing yesterday's clothes, with no sign of him having taken them off. Hmph, he was a smart one.
"Oh, you're awake. Kid, how do you feel?"
Ye Qingcheng looked at the young boy before her. Yesterday, his face was hidden by his long hair. Today, seeing him up close, she was stunned! Good heavens, he was truly striking, a natural beauty worthy of a novel, with a pointed chin, dense and long eyelashes. Now, the beauty was ill, his lips pale, his peach blossom eyes clouded with sleepiness.
Ye Qingcheng, who was treated to the sight of a beauty first thing in the morning, instantly became overjoyed, even forgetting her original purpose.
"Beautiful, no, little darling, do you feel any other pain?" she asked him, her voice unconsciously lowering.
Zhou Hu: Huh???
"I... I don't have any other discomfort," Le Hu replied, lowering his head, his face turning red. In his eighteen years of life, this was the first time he had been so close to a woman, and she was a top beauty. Being doted on by a beautiful elder sister made him too embarrassed to look.
"How can you be fine? Two of your ribs are broken!" Ye Qingcheng exclaimed angrily, internally cursing the barbarians who lacked any pity.
Le Hu's eyes dimmed. He knew how serious his injuries were. In his past life, he had even...
"Eat your breakfast first, and then we'll talk about other matters." She brought the breakfast she had brought in and placed it before Le Hu, gesturing for him to eat.
Le Hu hadn't had a full meal in a long time. Looking at the plain porridge and side dishes before him, tears welled up in his eyes. These people were so good to him; how could his past self have repaid their kindness with enmity?
Ye Qingcheng tenderly touched Le Hu's head.
After Le Hu finished eating, he intended to kneel and beg Zhou Hu for forgiveness, but before he could get out of bed, Ye Qingcheng stopped him. "What are you doing? Even if you want to kowtow, wait until you're healed. Right, General Zhou?" She shot Zhou Hu a warning glance.
"Yes, Doctor Ye is right." I would never let him kneel, I already feel sorry for him.
At this moment, Ye Qingcheng realized that Zhou Hu's death in the book was due to poisoning.
"They captured our mother and father, grandmother, and children. My grandfather, being old, couldn't withstand their torture, and he already..., my sister protected me from being defiled by them. I haven't seen her for several months," Le Hu said, wiping away his tears.
"Also, for the past month, they've been searching everywhere for children, both boys and girls. They're conducting secret research, having them eat different pills daily, and soaking them in medicinal baths of various colors. Some children couldn't endure it and died."
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingcheng and Zhou Hu were shocked. They were worse than beasts, this was practically human experimentation, no wonder the war had lasted five years.
"What are they doing all this for?" Zhou Hu asked, puzzled.
Le Hu looked into his eyes and calmly revealed the cruel truth: "The blood of the children who didn't die is poisonous. It doesn't matter if they wander into the Central Plains, are adopted, or continue to wander. Every day, they poison the water, especially those close to them."
Zhou Hu's heart raced. He looked into Le Hu's eyes, and in those beautiful peach blossom eyes, he saw his own reflection, filled with concern.
So that's how it was. The barbarians' combat methods weren't just for temporary victory; they wanted to eliminate everyone except themselves. What a huge appetite they had.
Ye Qingcheng looked at the two people before her. Well, there was no more role for her here. She should inform Xiao Wangye and have him think of a solution.
She took away the tray, leaving the credit and fame, and closed the tent flap, leaving the space to the "little couple."
"I"
"You"
"Why don't you go first?"
"Why don't you go first?"
They were so in sync. Le Hu scratched his head awkwardly and let Zhou Hu speak first.
"Have we met before?"