Chapter 379 No

Chapter 379: No Way

Wuliji's movements did not pause in the slightest, his rough fingertips grazing over the skin of Cheng Ge's waist.

He lifted his head, his gaze meeting Cheng Ge's panic-stricken eyes, his voice low and even, yet carrying a dogged earnestness: "I... like you."

He paused, then continued to organize his words, "You... like... me. Then, this is allowed."

Cheng Ge's scalp crawled with dread, the blood in his limbs felt frozen solid!

Cheng Ge no longer dared to talk back, his voice trembling and faint: "...N-no... no way!!!"

Wuliji's hand paused slightly, he lifted his head, his brow twitching slightly, his gaze filled with pure confusion: "...Why?"

Why?! What the hell, do you even need to ask why?! Cheng Ge could barely breathe, his chest tight and heavy.

His mind raced. He had to immediately find a reason to stop this barbarian! A reason he couldn't argue with!

"You—didn't you say you wanted to marry me?!!"

Wuliji froze for a second, as if he hadn't expected that to come up, then nodded seriously: "Yes."

Cheng Ge quickly ran with it, his urgency making his tone sound extra sincere.

"In our Great Zhou... when people marry there, it requires three matchmakers and six betrothal rites, a proper, publicly recognized wedding, and you have to bow to heaven, earth, and your elders for it to count! Reputation matters! It has to be legitimate!"

He swallowed hard, trying to look as loving as possible, though it probably came off as a twitch.

"I... I may... uh... well... like you..."

Saying those three words almost killed him, but he gritted his teeth and choked them out.

"But in the end, it wouldn't be proper or legitimate! If word of this gets out, I'd be a laughingstock! At the very least... give me some proper standing!"

He blurted it all out in one breath, staring nervously at Wuliji, his heart about to burst out of his chest.

He knew this spiel was embarrassing, but at this moment, as long as it could hold off this barbarian, he'd say anything!

Wuliji listened to his words, his brow furrowing slightly, as if mulling it over.

He was silent for a moment, and finally, his hand slowly withdrew.

Before Cheng Ge could even breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Wuliji speak: "...In a couple of days, we'll get married."

He paused, then added, in that calm tone of someone arranging affairs: "I've already had people make the arrangements."

Cheng Ge: "..." His head was spinning even more! This barbarian actually went along with it?! And he works this fast?!

Cheng Ge's mind raced as he watched Wuliji seem about to "get back to business."

Thinking fast, he spoke up again, his voice going shrill with panic: "Wait...!"

Wuliji's movements paused, his brow furrowing once more.

Cheng Ge took a deep breath, forcing calm, and said: "This... in our Great Zhou, before the formal marriage, touching each other is absolutely forbidden!"

Wuliji seemed somewhat confused. The Northern Di were more liberal about these things; as long as both parties were into each other, being intimate was fine.

"Our Great Zhou has very strict rules! If you... do that... before marriage, it's considered losing your virtue before marriage! It's the worst sin!

You'd be... put in a pig cage! Tied up and thrown into a river to drown! It's a horrible death!"

He talked while watching Wuliji's face, looking for any sign of doubt.

Wuliji's face stayed mostly unreadable, though a faint trace of confusion seemed to flicker in his eyes, as if pondering what connection "being thrown into a river" had with what he wanted to do. But he didn't immediately refute it.

Seeing this, Cheng Ge pressed his advantage, "Besides, you—you keep saying you like me and want to marry me, so shouldn't you show some commitment?

Who gets married without spending a single coin? I, a pure and virtuous man, am giving myself to you—you should at least give some betrothal gifts!"

He deliberately emphasized the words "betrothal gifts," while secretly glancing at Wuliji from the corner of his eye.

Wuliji was clearly taken aback when he heard "betrothal gifts," "What... betrothal gifts?"

Cheng Ge saw an opening! He perked up immediately, no longer afraid, and began counting on his fingers as he "educated" and "extorted" at the same time.

"Betrothal gifts! It's what the suitor—uh, well, the party seeking the marriage—gives to the party being sought! It shows sincerity, and shows the ability to support a family!

Things like gold, silver, and jewels, fine silks and satins, good farmland and beautiful houses, rare and exotic beasts... the more the better, the more valuable the more face it brings!"

He was getting more fluent, nearly reciting the entire lavish betrothal gift list of Great Zhou aristocratic marriages.

"Even if you Northern Di... don't have all that, you should at least have cattle, sheep, and horses! The finest steeds! The fattest flocks! And... and your hunting falcon!"

A stroke of inspiration hit him, and he pointed at the hunting falcon playing dead nearby, "I think it looks quite majestic—it would make a fine betrothal gift!"

The falcon seemed to understand, suddenly lifting its head, its amber eyes sweeping over Cheng Ge, ruffling its feathers.

Wuliji, following Cheng Ge's words, slowly shifted his gaze to the falcon, then back to Cheng Ge's face.

His brow remained furrowed, seemingly seriously contemplating the necessity of betrothal gifts, and the demands Cheng Ge had raised.

Especially when Cheng Ge pointed at the falcon, a slight ripple seemed to pass through his calm eyes.

Silence fell over the tent once more, Cheng Ge waiting nervously for Wuliji's reaction, his heart in his throat.

After a long moment, Wuliji finally spoke again, his voice low, carrying a solemnity born of deep thought:

"You... want betrothal gifts." It was not a question, but a statement.

Cheng Ge quickly nodded, trying to make his eyes look full of expectation and righteousness.

"Of course! Without betrothal gifts, the marriage would be meaningless and against the rules!"

Wuliji looked at him and fell silent for another moment. Then, finally, he completely released his hold and restraint on Cheng Ge, even shifting back a bit to sit up.

The moment Cheng Ge was free, he immediately scrambled backward on his hands and feet, all the way to the innermost part of the bed, his eyes fixed intently on Wuliji.

But Wuliji didn't advance again. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at his own open palm, then up at the wary Cheng Ge.

After a long while, he finally said slowly: "I... understand."

A huge weight crashed down from Cheng Ge's heart, his taut nerves suddenly relaxing, and only then did he realize his back was soaked with cold sweat.

By the dim lamplight, he stole a glance at Wuliji, who had now lain down beside him.

That massive body was like a silent mountain, lying just an arm's length away, radiating an undeniable presence—but at least for now, there was no sign of him pressing over.

Alright, successfully bamboozled him. Cheng Ge gave himself a mental thumbs up.

Whether this barbarian genuinely bought the whole betrothal gifts routine or was just too dazed to argue, at least tonight's crisis was handled for now.

As for the betrothal gifts? Once I get in touch with Cui Ji, or find a chance to bolt, who gives a damn about fine horses, fat sheep, or hunting falcons? Screw all of that!

With that thought, the exhaustion finally hit him. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and he slipped into a fitful, hazy sleep.

...

Who knows how long had passed.

"Woo—woo—woo—!!!" The low, deep blast of an ox-horn suddenly ripped through the dead silence of the grassland night!

Right after, the heavy, jumbled sound of footsteps came rumbling closer from the distance.

Cheng Ge snapped awake, yanked roughly out of his foggy sleep.

He shot up in a panic, whipping his head toward the noise.

Wuliji's tall frame stood by the bed, hastily buckling on his heavy leather armor in the weak light filtering through the tent flap.

The metal plates on the armor clinked softly as he moved.

The tent flap was yanked open a crack, and a Northern Di soldier, keeping his voice low, rattled off a rapid string of words to Wuliji.

Cheng Ge strained his ears, every sense on high alert, desperate to catch anything useful from that alien tongue.

And the result... shit! Not a single word made sense!

He was like a deaf guy dropped into a foreign bazaar, watching everyone talk while he just stood there like a total idiot.

The soldier's face was frantic, and Wuliji sped up his dressing, while the chaos outside the tent grew louder and more frantic...

A night raid? An enemy assault? A tribal revolt? Or something else entirely?

After the soldier finished, Wuliji gave a curt nod, his face completely unreadable.

He quickly cinched the last strap of his armor, snatched the curved blade off the low table, and hooked it at his waist.

Then he turned, his eyes landing dead on Cheng Ge, who was curled up in the corner of the bed.

That look stayed calm in the gloom, but it carried the weight of a man about to fight.

Cheng Ge's heart pounded harder with every step Wuliji took toward him.

The towering figure, carrying the cold bite of leather and the grassland night wind, closed in step by step, swallowing him completely in his shadow.

"Wh... what's happening?" Cheng Ge's voice came out tight, with a slight tremor he didn't even realize.

Wuliji stopped in front of him, the chaos outside the tent fading into background noise:

"Nanling... is attacking. The Great Khan... ordered me to fight. You... wait for me to come back."

With that, Wuliji said nothing more and turned to leave.

Cheng Ge stared blankly at Wuliji's back as he shoved through the curtain, radiating an unspent, fierce battle fury.

The felt curtain dropped, muffling most of the deafening noise, but leaving a weird stillness behind in the tent.

"Nanling... Yun Xunyu?" Cheng Ge muttered the name without thinking, the syllables slipping off his tongue with a dazed, disbelieving edge.

But after just a second of confusion, a far hotter, surging emotion smashed through every doubt—

Run! If not now, then when?!

The Northern Di camp was under attack, the main force was out fighting, and the rear was wide open and in chaos!

Wuliji had been yanked away, too busy to pay attention! This was a golden opportunity!

Cheng Ge shot up off the bed with a whoosh, moving so fast he almost kicked up a breeze.

In the dead of night, behind one of the tents in the Northern Di camp, a furry dog head poked out cautiously.

Dahuang's shiny black eyes darted left and right, ears pricked straight up, catching every suspicious noise.

Once it confirmed the coast was clear, it ducked back and let out a super soft bark into the darkness behind it.

The second that low bark faded, a round head wrapped in cloth, with only a pair of eyes showing, popped out right behind.

Star Frost, coiled on Cheng Ge's shoulder, raised its triangular head, tongue flicking silently in alert.

Cheng Ge swallowed hard and swept his gaze over the area.

He crouched low, slinking like a gecko hugging the ground, and eased out from behind the tent.

Dahuang stayed glued to his feet, while Star Frost's head swayed slightly with each move.

With the main force gone, only a handful of soldiers were left in the camp.

Cheng Ge stuck to the darkest corners as he fled, palms slick with cold sweat, but his eyes blazing with focus.

Just make it through this stretch of the camp, then slip out the gate in all the chaos...

"Thud, thud, thud..."

A steady, heavy march of footsteps came out of nowhere from the side path!

Cheng Ge and Dahuang both reacted in a flash!

The second the footsteps hit his ears, Cheng Ge's body moved before his brain even caught up.

He yanked himself back, like a spooked gecko, and "slapped" himself straight into a pile of musty, half-damp hay!

Dahuang dove in after him with a whoosh, leaving just the tip of its tail poking out, pressed tight against Cheng Ge's calf.

Star Frost slithered up Cheng Ge's sleeve in a flash and disappeared.

The footsteps got closer, and torchlight threw the shadows of several tall Northern Di soldiers with spears onto the nearby tent, plain as day.

They looked like they were on a routine patrol, or maybe hunting for something, moving at a steady pace but sweeping their eyes around warily.

Cheng Ge held his breath, curled up tight, heart slamming so hard it felt like it might punch through his ribs.

The hay was rough and scratchy, but he didn't dare twitch a muscle, barely even letting himself blink.

Dahuang flattened itself too, choking back a whimper so faint it was almost inaudible.

The soldiers' voices were right there, still jabbering in that impossible-to-understand Northern Di language.

They seemed to pause briefly in front of the haystack, and Cheng Ge could even hear the sound of their leather boots treading on the muddy ground.

Time ticked by, each second stretching as long as a century.

Finally, the footsteps sounded again, gradually fading away into the distance, swallowed by other noises.

Damn... scared me to death. Cheng Ge's taut nerves suddenly relaxed, nearly making him go weak in the knees.

He didn't emerge immediately, waiting a few more moments until he was certain no sound remained outside, before cautiously wriggling out of the stinking haystack.

He first poked his head out halfway, glancing left and right—okay, the patrol was gone.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he crawled on all fours, eager to get the hell out of there.

However, just as he was mostly out of the haystack and about to stand up—

His back slammed into a warm... body!

"Ugh!"

"What the—!!"

Two startled yelps burst out at almost the same time! Cheng Ge, scared out of his mind, lunged forward, spun around awkwardly, and instinctively grabbed the short dagger in his hand!

The other guy was clearly just as startled, letting out a strange yelp and stumbling back two steps, waving something around wildly.

Firelight filtered through the gaps in the haystack, barely illuminating the stranger's face.

It was a young guy wearing a tattered Northern Di leather robe, his face smeared with soot, yet clearly not bearing the deep-set features of the Beidi people.

His eyes were wide as saucers, filled with the exact same terror as Cheng Ge's.