Chapter 51

Chapter 51

"So when are we gonna consummate the marriage?"

Hearing Xie Licheng say that, Gu Zhangyuan quickly pulled his hand back.

He knew it—Xie Licheng being so generous all of a sudden definitely meant he had some other scheme up his sleeve.

Gu Zhangyuan leaned against Xie Licheng's chest and said softly, "Can we hold off on consummating the marriage for a while?"

"What's wrong?"

"I... I'm afraid that once we consummate, I'll get pregnant. Right now the Gu family has a lot of stuff that needs my attention, and I gotta worry about the town and the village every day too. If I get pregnant now, my body's gonna be achy here and achy there, and I won't have the energy to manage all these things."

At that point, Gu Zhangyuan paused for a moment. He looked up at Xie Licheng, making sure Xie Licheng didn't look mad, and then went on slowly, "I was thinking... maybe once more people move here and I find the right folks to help run things, then we can have a kid—it won't be too late by then."

Xie Licheng got his worries, but to Xie Licheng, they were no big deal. Gu Zhangyuan was just scared of getting knocked up after they slept together. Xie Licheng remembered that when he was scavenging for supplies in his past life, he'd grabbed some condoms from a big supermarket.

"Actually, even if we do it, as long as you don't wanna get pregnant, we got ways to keep that from happening."

Gu Zhangyuan's eyes went wide. "You want me to drink that birth control tea?"

Before he could even start getting mad, Xie Licheng cut in, "It's not that—drinking too much of that stuff messes up your body."

Gu Zhangyuan was about to blow his top, 'cause if Xie Licheng wanted him to drink that stuff just so they could sleep together, then he'd really have been blind to pick this man. Luckily, Xie Licheng didn't seem to mean it that way, so he decided to hear him out first.

"I got something that can keep you from getting pregnant and won't hurt you at all."

"Really? Something that good exists?"

"Mm, come on, let's head back to the farm and I'll show you."

Gu Zhangyuan was curious anyway, so he got up and packed their clothes up with Xie Licheng.

Xie Licheng had teleported straight here, but on the way back, since he had to bring Gu Zhangyuan with him, they had to take the carriage.

They went back to the farm first, and Xie Licheng found Gu Zhangyuan a comfier, more practical outfit.

Xie Licheng handed the clothes to Gu Zhangyuan and also grabbed two long strips of cloth.

Gu Zhangyuan eyed the cloth strips and asked, "What are those for?"

Xie Licheng: "To tie around your pant legs so you don't gotta worry about bugs crawling up."

Xie Licheng's defense stat was ridiculously high, so he didn't need to bother with all that when heading up the mountain.

But Gu Zhangyuan was different—he was timid, scared of this and scared of that.

Now that the weather was warming up, there'd be more poisonous bugs and snakes up on the mountain.

If a bug crawled into his clothes, Gu Zhangyuan would probably never dare set foot on that mountain again.

Hearing that bugs could crawl up his pant legs, Gu Zhangyuan said nervously, "Then... maybe I shouldn't go up the mountain after all."

He was scared of bugs, scared of snakes, and even more scared of wolves, tigers, and all that.

He was also kinda clumsy, tripping over himself even on flat ground. He figured he really wasn't cut out for the mountain.

Xie Licheng: "Don't worry. If you tie up your calves like I said, no bugs'll get on you. And if you get too tired to walk, I can carry you on my back."

Anyway, Gu Zhangyuan was super light to him, so carrying him wouldn't make a difference—he'd just treat it like weighted training.

Hearing Xie Licheng say that, and since he did wanna go out and explore a bit, Gu Zhangyuan decided to change and head up the mountain with him.

Gu Zhangyuan changed into the clothes Xie Licheng had laid out, then sat down and let Xie Licheng wrap his legs.

The long cloth strip had to be wrapped from the ankle all the way up to the calf, tucking the pants in completely so there were no gaps—then bugs couldn't crawl in.

Xie Licheng knelt down on one knee to wrap his legs. Gu Zhangyuan watched his lowered gaze, completely free of his usual coldness and arrogance, and somehow his courage suddenly grew.

He propped his other foot up on Xie Licheng's broad shoulder. His foot was only covered by a thin summer sock.

Xie Licheng didn't get mad at that either. He just glanced at the foot, then kept slowly wrapping his leg.

Xie Licheng looked so meek and honest right now that it reminded Gu Zhangyuan of how he used to be.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "The way you look right now makes me wanna mess with you."

Xie Licheng lifted his dark eyes and said with a hint of amusement, "You sure it's you messing with me, and not me messing with you?"

Gu Zhangyuan also knew that his current gentleness and obedience were all just an act. In reality, deep down, Xie Licheng was wild, cruel, and arrogant.

If he said he wanted to mess with Xie Licheng, the end result would definitely be him getting messed with instead.

Gu Zhangyuan muttered, a little annoyed, "Then... can't you just let me mess with you a little? I'm your husband after all."

Xie Licheng let out a soft sigh, then asked in a really gentle voice, "How do you want to bully me?"

"It's just... you kneel down, or let me ride you like a horse."

Xie Licheng was amused by his unique way of messing with people.

He said, "You know what it means to let a man be your horse to ride?"

What a little idiot.

Gu Zhangyuan, still totally clueless, looked confused. "What does that mean?"

Xie Licheng: "It doesn't mean anything. You'll get it when you're older."

With that, he stood up and pulled Gu Zhangyuan outside.

He grabbed himself a big backpack basket and handed Gu Zhangyuan a small bamboo one.

Gu Zhangyuan held up his small bamboo basket next to Xie Licheng's big backpack basket.

"I feel like you're looking down on me."

Xie Licheng said, "It's not that I'm looking down on you. Today I'm taking you up the mountain just to have fun."

Hearing Xie Licheng say that, Gu Zhangyuan perked up a little.

He walked ahead of Xie Licheng, like he wanted to lead the way. Xie Licheng smiled and followed, and the two chatted as they walked.

Xie Licheng: "There's gonna be more and more people here in the future. I can't guarantee everyone who comes in will be a good person, so when you go out on regular days, bring people with you."

Gu Zhangyuan turned back to look at him and said, "I know, I'm not dumb."

He used to go out and about a lot too. Because of his noble status and striking looks, he always drew a lot of attention.

There were also plenty of people coveting the Gu family's wealth, each of them scheming against him, trying to ruin his reputation just to latch onto the Gu family. He'd seen every kind of dirty trick out there, so he wasn't some naive young master.

"You picked up some self-defense moves from Master Wu back then, and I'll teach you regularly whenever I've got free time. Also, you should remind the others not to be completely unguarded around outsiders, so they don't get played for fools."

Gu Zhangyuan nodded after listening and said, "Sometimes I think you're pretty fierce and ruthless, but other times... you come across as gentle and kind."

Xie Licheng smiled and asked him, "When I killed people, were you scared of me?"

Gu Zhangyuan shook his head, paused, and looked at Xie Licheng before saying, "You killed to protect me—how could I ever be scared of you? If it weren't for you, I've no idea where I'd be right now."

Xie Licheng held out his hand, and Gu Zhangyuan put his in it. He heard Xie Licheng say in a steady voice, "Don't be scared of me. Even if we ever fall out of love someday, I, Xie Licheng, will never hurt you."

Gu Zhangyuan felt his cheeks heat up at that. If anyone else had said that, he wouldn't have bought it, but coming from Xie Licheng, he did.

Gu Zhangyuan: "Why are you suddenly saying this out of the blue? Don't you like me anymore?"

Xie Licheng: "No, I've given you that much power—do you really think I don't like you?"

Xie Licheng wasn't one to make promises; he always figured people were fickle by nature, and nobody could say what the future would bring. But to set Gu Zhangyuan's mind at ease, he'd ended up making him promise after promise.

Gu Zhangyuan stopped again, playing dumb as he asked, "What big authority do I have?"

Xie Licheng pulled him in and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"I've put you in charge of selling houses and shops in Peach Blossom Town, which means you get to decide who can live in the town. Isn't that power big enough?"

Xie Licheng had said that all future property and real estate deals would be handled by him, and that kind of power was bigger than heaven itself.

Gu Zhangyuan knew that, but he played dumb on purpose, making Xie Licheng spell it out. Now that he'd gotten Xie Licheng to say it out loud, Gu Zhangyuan put a hand on Xie Licheng's shoulder and asked, "Aren't you scared that one day, this pocket world of yours might end up with the surname Gu?"

Xie Licheng seized the chance to scoop him up, carrying him along as he said, "By then, I'll already be old, and the Gu who can run this place will definitely be our kid."

As long as it was his kid, whether they took the surname Gu or Xie didn't matter much.

Gu Zhangyuan was lifted up, suddenly towering over everything. He reached out to snag leaves from the trees along the path, then started rambling out of nowhere.

"What if... it's not our kid? Like... what if it's my sister's kid? Would you be let down then?"

"Why would I be let down? If my kid can't handle this place, it's not a bad thing for someone capable to take over."

If his kid had no talent and got pushed around, that was on them.

He shouldn't be able to spawn such a useless brat anyway.

"Oh, by the way, what about that thing you mentioned—the one that lets us sleep together without worrying about getting pregnant?"

Xie Licheng's steps faltered at that, then he kept walking slowly.

"I'll show it to you tonight when we get back."

Whenever Gu Zhangyuan was around, Xie Licheng's attention was always on him, which made it easy to forget stuff.

Since Xie Licheng had carried him up the mountain, Gu Zhangyuan hadn't used much energy on the way, and they'd made it up pretty fast.

Once they actually got to the mountain, Gu Zhangyuan found it was really fun up there.

The mountain was dead quiet; aside from their voices, all you could hear were insects and birds chirping.

You could also hear wild beasts, but most of the time they stayed quiet to ambush their prey.

Gu Zhangyuan spotted a bunch of wild veggies and fruit around and asked Xie Licheng to set him down.

Walking ahead, he'd pick a little flower here, grab a wild fruit there. Xie Licheng stuck close behind, making sure he didn't run into any danger.

Later, Xie Licheng spotted a snake and pulled out his crossbow bolt, heading over to Gu Zhangyuan.

"Come on, go kill that snake."

Hearing this, Gu Zhangyuan noticed a small patterned snake hanging from a branch not far away.

He exchanged a glance with the little snake, then quickly turned and buried himself in Xie Licheng's arms.

"I don't want to—it... looks so scary."

"Don't be afraid, it's just like a spicy strip. You're different—you have two hands and two legs, so dealing with it will be simple and easy."

Gu Zhangyuan shuddered at the memory of the snake's appearance. Seeing that Xie Licheng insisted he kill it, he clung to Xie Licheng's neck and acted coquettishly.

He said, "Husband, I'm scared. Can I not kill the snake? I can kill wild chickens, wild ducks, or even wild boars."

Seeing that he was genuinely afraid of snakes, Xie Licheng had no choice but to shoot it with his crossbow bolt. He held his fragrant, soft wife in his arms and coaxed him for a long time before calming him down.

"You didn't seem so afraid of snakes when you had me catch them before."

Gu Zhangyuan muttered softly while picking wildflowers, "I was scared then too, but I had to put on a brave face."

Now, facing his own husband, who knew exactly what he was like, there was no need to pretend to be strong.

It wasn't that Gu Zhangyuan was deliberately using this as an excuse to act spoiled; snakes were truly strange and hair-raising creatures.

Compared to killing a snake, he would rather face a big wild boar.

Afterward, they didn't encounter any wild boars or large beasts, only a cute gray rabbit.

This time, Gu Zhangyuan didn't feel afraid; with Xie Licheng's help, he killed the rabbit.

While Xie Licheng went to retrieve the rabbit, Gu Zhangyuan caught a hedgehog in the grass.

He initially wanted to take the hedgehog home to raise, but upon seeing its head, he found it ugly and suddenly lost interest.

He tossed the hedgehog back into the grass and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his fingers.

Xie Licheng, who had been watching him all along, couldn't help but smile helplessly.

Later, they went to a small stream in the mountains to catch fish. The water was shallow and clear.

Gu Zhangyuan wanted to go into the water to wash his feet and catch small fish himself, but he was afraid of leeches in the water.

While he hesitated, Xie Licheng took off his shirt and spread it over a rock in the stream.

Xie Licheng patted the rock and said to Gu Zhangyuan, "Come, sit here."

Gu Zhangyuan carefully stepped on the stones and was guided by Xie Licheng to the rock.

Xie Licheng helped him sit down properly and bent over to remove his shoes.

Seeing this, Gu Zhangyuan quickly said, "I'm afraid there might be bugs in there that will bite me."

Xie Licheng: "No, I'm right here with you. I won't let them bite you."

Seeing Xie Licheng standing in the water without any trouble, Gu Zhangyuan figured that just soaking his feet should be fine too.

With that thought, he nodded, signaling Xie Licheng that he could help him take off his shoes.

It wasn't really that Gu Zhangyuan enjoyed ordering Xie Licheng around; it was mainly because of the environment he had grown up in.

Even though it was now a time of chaos, he hadn't really lived through much of it before he was brought into the pocket dimension by Xie Licheng.

Under such circumstances, he was used to being waited on, and ordering people around came easily to him.

Of course, it also happened that Xie Licheng enjoyed serving him. Xie Licheng believed that if he didn't take care of his own wife, she'd easily end up with someone else.

Xie Licheng helped him take off his shoes and unwrapped the cloth bindings on his legs.

Gu Zhangyuan cautiously dipped his foot in to test the water temperature and let out a little yelp from the cold.

"Ah, how come it's this cold?"

The weather was quite warm now, and after walking the whole way with Xie Licheng, he was actually sweating. He'd figured he could cool off in the stream, but he hadn't expected the water to be this cold.

Xie Licheng didn't think it was cold; to him, the water temperature was just perfect.

But seeing how Gu Zhangyuan feared the cold, he scooped Gu Zhangyuan up off the rock and sat down himself, settling Gu Zhangyuan in his lap on the spot where he'd been sitting.

Gu Zhangyuan sat in his lap, looking completely bewildered. He was just about to turn and ask Xie Licheng what he was up to when he heard the voice behind him say softly, "Here, try stepping on my feet. It shouldn't be as cold that way."

As he spoke, Xie Licheng lifted his feet from the stream and let Gu Zhangyuan place one foot on top of his instep. Then, together, they slowly dipped into the water, bit by bit.

Whether it was Xie Licheng's warm feet or Gu Zhangyuan getting used to it, gradually the water no longer felt cold to him.

Gu Zhangyuan smiled and kicked at the water, sending splashes everywhere.

Xie Licheng reached out to block the splashes and said, "Be careful—don't get your clothes wet."