HE With the Cold Male Protagonist C44

Chapter 44: Overnight in the Mountains, Cooking Green Crabs

The underground river was treacherous and unpredictable. Anyone unfamiliar with it would never know where the whirlpools might sweep them, nor what dangers lurked within.

Under the heavy silence of night, the surface of a calm pool suddenly burst with a great splash. Two figures emerged faintly from the water, clinging tightly to one another under the watchful gaze of a nightingale perched in the branches.

Their breaths had not yet steadied, yet their lips met again in an urgent kiss.

Jiang Baiye’s passion and desire were raw and undisguised. He cupped the wet, delicate face in his hands, eager to coax him open and take him in.

Lu Lizhi knew this was hardly the time or place, yet he was swept along, little by little softened and dyed by the intensity—until he could no longer control himself.

Though the night wind was cool, in that instant it grew feverishly hot, steam rising all around them, the scene like an otherworldly paradise.

Jiang Baiye looked at the faint furrow of his brows, at those usually restrained and cold eyes now stirred with emotion. His chest brimmed full, his lips teasing and insistent as he carried him onto the bank.

It was like reliving the moment he had first pulled him from the water.

“Lu Lizhi, open your eyes. Look at me.”

Lu Lizhi was dazed, not even sure where he was. Before he could gather himself, Jiang Baiye kissed him again, hard and unyielding. He realized—when danger was near, Jiang Baiye was the safest place of all. But when danger was gone, Jiang Baiye became the greatest danger.

At last, he summoned his strength and flipped them over.

Jiang Baiye blinked, studying him with astonishment, and then grinned. “Not allowed.”

Realizing what he meant, Lu Lizhi flushed with anger and shame. He bit him hard, then scrambled up and fled.

“Careful!” Jiang Baiye rose, tugging at his clinging wet clothes that left nothing to the imagination, and hurried after him. He caught him from behind, checked that the surroundings were safe, and pressed him against a tree, tormenting him again as if never satisfied.

The darkness was a natural accomplice, heightening everything. Over and over, Jiang Baiye pressed close, coaxing: “Not allowed? Really not allowed? Lu Lizhi, can you bear to leave me like this? Won’t you…”

Before his hand could wander lower, it was slapped away with force.

Lu Lizhi’s face was pale. Without looking back, he strode away.

Realizing there was no room to press further, Jiang Baiye sobered, hurrying after him. “Don’t walk off. It’s dangerous. Stay with me.”

For a while, the silence was almost too heavy. Lu Lizhi thought he might be angry. He was just about to reach for his hand when Jiang Baiye spoke first. “I’m sorry. I was too reckless. When I’m with you, I can’t control myself at all.”

He didn’t mention the medicine he had been taking daily to cool his restless heat. With rare seriousness, he clasped Lu Lizhi’s hand. “I shouldn’t have rushed you. Even if we’re both men, it should happen at the right, solemn moment. When you’re ready…”

He pressed a gentle kiss to the back of his hand. “Tell me. I’ll be ready anytime.”

He didn’t say aloud that he meant after marriage. For the sake of Lu Lizhi’s studies and the examinations, he would surely have to wait a long while.

But if he had to wait until then to have him, Jiang Baiye wasn’t sure he had such patience. He couldn’t leave him untethered—he needed some bond to feel secure.

In truth, Jiang Baiye’s wild, unrestrained nature didn’t see the need for ceremony between two men. Such beauty, such joy—surely Lu Lizhi would come to enjoy it with him. Why not sooner rather than later?

Still, he truly cared about and respected Lu Lizhi’s will.

Lu Lizhi said nothing.

Jiang Baiye, oblivious to the faint strangeness buried in him, was as happy as a child. He led him to a nearby cave, where firewood he had once left still remained.

Unlike damp, beast-haunted caverns, this one was almost a “luxury home.” Jiang Baiye laid out a tanned animal hide on dry grass, seating Lu Lizhi carefully upon it.

“Let’s dry our clothes first. It’ll be cold tonight—don’t catch a chill.” He boldly stripped off his upper garment, startling Lu Lizhi into a glimpse of strong, sculpted muscle, far more alluring than the time at the inn.

Compared to his own slender frame, weak and scholarly, it was no wonder Jiang Baiye had eyed him so doubtfully.

Lu Lizhi was even less willing to undress.

Jiang Baiye tossed his tools aside, lit the fire with Lu Lizhi’s dagger, and propped his clothes on a wooden frame. He was about to strip off his trousers.

Lu Lizhi stopped him in haste, then clutched his stomach.

“Hungry?” Jiang Baiye immediately abandoned the idea. “Wait here. I’ll find food.”

He took the dagger Lu Lizhi pressed into his hand, made a torch of resin, and disappeared into the night.

Only after he was sure Jiang Baiye had gone did Lu Lizhi swiftly loosen his own clothes and dry them by the fire. He dared not bare himself entirely, afraid Jiang Baiye might suddenly return.

Luckily, the cave was warm. Before long, his garments were dry enough.

Dressed again, he looked around curiously. The cavern was neat and spacious. Herbs were piled in a corner, fragrant enough to repel insects. On one wall, a “正” and a “一” had been carved—likely tally marks, recording Jiang Baiye’s visits.

Just as he lingered on this private place, a beast’s roar split the night outside.

The fire crackled loudly, making his heart jump.

Quickly, he fashioned a torch as Jiang Baiye had done and grabbed a stick, venturing out.

Unable to call for him, he wandered blindly, anxious, making muffled sounds of distress—humiliating sounds he never wanted to reveal.

Meanwhile, Jiang Baiye’s torch had burned out. By moonlight, he was catching green crabs hidden beneath stream rocks when he saw a light racing toward him. Startled, he was pinched by a crab, but ignored the pain. He rushed forward, seizing the man who had stumbled frantically in search of him.

“Lu Lizhi! Why did you come out? Don’t you know how dangerous it is!” He scolded, one hand clutching a string of crabs, the other hefting him onto his shoulder, storming back to the cave.

Before he could lecture further, Lu Lizhi pulled him down into a desperate kiss, as if to confirm he was alive—alive, and not dragged into ruin like his kin.

Jiang Baiye felt his despair and answered with both fire and tenderness.

The kiss deepened and softened, now fierce, now loving, until Jiang Baiye could no longer endure. He guided Lu Lizhi’s hand—

Lu Lizhi snapped awake, face set, trying to pull away. Jiang Baiye held him fast, pressing down his fingers.

“You started it…” Yet even then, he stopped, releasing him with a deep breath. “Don’t be afraid. Rest here. It’s safe enough. Beasts won’t attack unless starving, and there’s plenty for them to hunt.”

Lu Lizhi nodded. He was exhausted. His weak body had strained itself, searching and swimming, not to mention being turned inside out by kisses. Dizzy and light-headed, he sank down.

Once he was still, Jiang Baiye boiled bamboo water, cooled it with his breath, and fed it to him. At first Lu Lizhi resisted, embarrassed, but under Jiang Baiye’s gentle firmness, he drank, soothed at once.

By then, the crabs were cooked with bamboo shoots and wild herbs. Jiang Baiye peeled the meat, feeding him piece by piece. The large green crabs were plump and tender, their broth fragrant. Though he tried to refuse, Lu Lizhi could only yield.

To his surprise, this simple meal was sweeter and more satisfying than any before.

Suddenly remembering, he grabbed Jiang Baiye’s arm, finding a graze from an arrow. He quickly tore a strip of cloth to bind it, while Jiang Baiye crushed herbs to apply.

Then, cheerfully, Jiang Baiye sprawled on the grass, slapping the spot beside him. “Lizhi, come here~” His voice carried a coaxing lilt.

Lu Lizhi’s gaze darted lower, then away. His hand still remembered the feel of him—so he dared not go closer. He retreated to the far wall instead.

But Jiang Baiye came after him, scooped him up, and toppled them both onto the hide.

Again, breath mingled in silence. In the dim warmth of firelight, two men alone—anything seemed possible.

Lu Lizhi clenched his fingers. That restless unease returned.

Jiang Baiye looked at his long lashes trembling down. This was his Lizhi, his chosen one—his heart swelled with love so fierce it frightened even him.

So this was what it meant for Jiang Baiye to truly like someone.

He chuckled softly, covering his eyes with his palm. “Sleep. We’ve to rise early tomorrow to leave the mountain.”

“Let your husband hold you. Be good, Lizhi—you smell so good, so nice…”

Lu Lizhi, bewildered by the strange word “husband,” was engulfed in his arms, drowned in whispered sweet nothings and praise, until his lips curved unbidden and his brow smoothed. He drifted into sleep, dreams warm instead of cold for once.

While the two rested, wrapped in tenderness, the assassins failed to find their targets. Ready to retreat, they lost their way in the forest. By nightfall, beasts drove them into terror—several died, others wounded, only two staggering back alive, cursing the one who had hired them.

Hadn’t they said a mere country farmer was easy prey? Hadn’t they promised free access to the mountain’s resources once the deed was done? Lies!

Back at the village, soldiers refused to enter the mountain, ordering the villagers to disperse rather than risk more deaths.

After great effort, the village head gathered men with Luo Ershu at the lead, just in time to meet Xuanzi, staggering as he carried Feng Lan’er out.

Madam Feng, waiting in agitation, nearly collapsed at the sight of their disheveled, bedraggled state. She quickly urged the village head to send the others away.

But the villagers were indignant. “Lu Scholar and Baiye went in to save her, yet haven’t come out. How did Xuanzi make it back? Did you see them?”

Xuanzi recounted tremblingly how they had stumbled upon wolves, fallen from a cliff, and even glimpsed those men searching for Jiang Baiye.

Terrified, they had hidden silently, braving pain until they found their way—only thanks to the methods Jiang Baiye had once taught him to avoid getting lost.

Just as their strength was failing, Luo Ershu’s party found them, filling them with relief.

Feng Lan’er burst into tears, clinging to Luo Ershu’s hand, unwilling to let go, terrified of being abandoned again.