Chapter 171
A year and a half later, in Wucheng.
There was an old farmhouse, with small flowers, pearl plums and some weeping willows growing along the walls. A stone table was placed in the middle of the courtyard with a few books and an unfinished chess set. Occasionally, there were flowers swaying beside the wall and huge and gorgeous butterflies. If one bothered them, they would learn that those butterflies were sharper than steel needles and had poisonous mouthparts. But aside from that, this was really a picture of a calm and stable life.
Dou Heng clasped his chest with his hands and leaned down to pass under the eaves. He quietly looked at the beautiful courtyard covered with a layer of golden tulle from under the sun with his usual tight lips with a slight but invisible smile. Looking towards the false door, his dark violet eyes overflowed with a touch of tenderness as he asked in a low voice, “Gong Lixin, have you finished?”
There was no response from the doorway, so he called again before pushing the door in.
As he expected, the young man fell asleep in the bath again. He was half lying on the edge of the bathtub with his head buried in his arm and his white and crystal-clear skin appeared even more fascinating and alluring against the blue liquid.
Dou Heng held his breath subconsciously and quietly walked over to pick up the young man from the bathtub. The already delicate skin felt more smooth and slippery because of the blue drug solution. Like a fish almost falling out of his arms, Dou Heng quickly adjusted the other’s angle and hugged the young man tightly into his arms. There was a trace of worry on his face.
The beautiful young man didn’t fall to the ground, nor did he awaken. Dou Heng quietly breathed a sigh of relief before walking out of the bathroom. He carefully placed the young man on the bed where a towel had been laid.
Picking up another bath towel by the head of the bed, he began to wipe the body of the young man; his movements were very skilled. He wiped his upper body, his lower abdomen with his eyes looking straight ahead then wiped all the way to his toes. His tight nerves relaxed slightly and he dared to face the beauty of the young man’s feet.
The young man’s toes were round and lovely. The thin pink nails were a tempting pink. His soles were beautifully shaped; narrow and long and were held in Dou Heng’s big hands. The bronze colour and ivory intertwined and looked particularly beautiful.
Dou Heng’s Adam’s apple slid up and down and his heart suddenly burst with a strong desire. He closed his eyes slightly and slowly lowered his head, approaching the young man’s foot one inch at a time. Holding gently onto one of his toes, he reverently and gently licked it. A trace of blue medicine along with the taste of the young man lingered on his tongue, traveled into his body and brought out an unbearable heat.
Dou Heng’s eyes gradually deepened, almost becoming black as he licked the young man’s toes carefully. With a look of intoxication and reverence on his face, he seemed to be worshiping a supreme god with this humblest of gesture.
“What are you doing?”
The tender warmth was interrupted by a confused voice. Dou Heng raised his head stiffly and faced the young man’s clear eyes.
“Oh, tickles.” While waiting for Dou Heng to answer, the young man suddenly laughed, gently tugged his ankle held in Dou Heng’s hands. He raised his feet and toes and rubbed Dou Heng’s chin twice, behaving very intimately.
Seeing the gleaming playfulness in the eyes of the young man with no trace of disgust, Dou Heng’s stiff expression gradually returned to normal. He naturally released the young man’s ankles, picked up a set of clothing beside the bed and said, “Help you dress, lest you catch a cold.”
After being soaked in blue potion, Gong Lixin’s limbs and body was filled with energy and this energy was directed towards his Dantian leaving behind a small trace behind. The young man sighed lazily, sat up halfway, stretched his limbs and let Dou Heng help him dress.
Dou Heng helped him put on a big white shirt and helped button it on. He trembled slightly when his fingertips brushed over the young man’s fair chest. He helped the young man put on his pants and glanced at his pink and delicate place, startling himself at the sight. These abnormal reactions however, were properly concealed by Dou Heng’s cold face, showing no outer signs of it.
The young man was gradually relying on him, trusting him and getting close to him and the feelings in Dou Heng’s heart surged, but he dared not show any of it, fearing that he would be pushed away and alienated. But he believed that if he eroded it away day after day, he would one day win the heart of the young man. Yes. He didn’t know when, but he also had become greedy. The more intimate he was with the young man, the less satisfied he was with this short and close distance between them.
As He Jin said, treasures like this young man cannot be let go even if one were to die.
Of course, although Dou Heng agreed with He Jin in his heart, he would never announce such things like unscrupulous people like He Jin. He Jin had been pushed away to Ningcheng by Lin Wenbo and Song Haoran. He could only come back to see the young man once every two or three months.
However, Ningcheng was where a lot of dementia plants were planted, thus was the processing base for the blue potion. If the young man wanted to restore his strength as soon as possible, the daily demand of blue potion was quite large. Although He Jin was busy, he was willing to work and pay for his beloved.
Even when distracted, Dou Heng finally helped the young man fasten the belt around his waist. His forehead was covered with a layer of fine sweat by the end of it.
Right then, there was a rhythmic knock on the door and Dou Heng hurried over to open it.
“It’s time for Gong Lixin to take his medicine.” Jin Shanyu held a bottle of blue potion with a relatively high concentration in his hand and shook it in front of Dou Heng’s eyes. Her eyes lowered and she saw the other’s crotch area was tented and she asked, “Is he awake?”
Dou Heng nodded blankly and stepped sideways to let Jin Shangyu in, “I’ll leave first.”
Seeing the young woman smile and nod, Dou Heng immediately strode away.
Damn, she felt more sullen now! Jin Shangyu stared at Dou Heng contemptuously even as she took the medicine into the room.
The upper body of the young man had a loose white shirt covering it and from it, peaked out beautifully shaped collarbones from the slightly open collar leaving an extremely sensual feeling. Combined with the other’s extraordinary face and lazy yet enchanting smile, it was a deadly combo. This kind of enchanting and sensual style was not done deliberately, but was completely natural. As the person himself grew in age, his charms became even more powerful. Jin Shangyu didn’t know how many more people would fall.
Seeing such a Gong Lixin, Jin Shangyu had to withdraw her contempt of Dou Heng. Alright, in fact, Dou Heng had good taste. Every day, he would see such a tempting and evil being. If he wasn’t bewitched then he wasn’t normal.
“Drink it. This time the concentration is higher than yesterday. In order to supply the crystal nucleus for this, Xiaohui has been busy for three days and three nights.” Jin Shangyu’s tone was sour.
“It’s been hard for Xiaohui.” Gong Lixin smiled and took the potion to drink. The hamstrings and body had been healed, but the invisible meridian couldn’t be repaired by using abilities. Later, Jin Shangyu found that the energy in the blue potion could nourish the meridian and increase the internal force. Otherwise, Gong Lixin would really become a waste.
“How much of your skill has been restored now?” Jin Shangyu asked in a low voice after seeing him finish his medicine.
The young man was the spiritual pillar of the survivors of the whole Country C. In order to stabilize their hearts, apart from a few very close people around them, no one knew how great the price the young man had paid to regain this piece of pure land. Seeing that the young man had lost a lot of weight and that his face was particularly pale, Jin Shangyu felt very distressed.
“50%, it should be fully recovered in half a year.” Gong Lixin’s tone was extremely relaxed as if this hardship couldn’t shake his firm heart.
“That’s good.” Jin Shangyu nodded with a smile, at ease. “Today’s the day for rice harvest. Everyone went to the field to help and it’s quite hilarious to see. Do you want to see as well? I heard that there will be a harvest festival three days later. It’s been a long time since we had a celebration!”
During the apocalypse, each day might be the last day of one’s life. Where would one have the time or will to celebrate? But now, it was different. Wucheng has been reconstructed. They could pick up previous festivals one by one or they could create new ones.
“Alright, let’s go out and see.” Gong Lixin’s eyes lit up and he got up from bed.
In the endless golden rice fields, the breeze blew across the layers of rice, creating waves and sending a burst of rich rice fragrance. Jin Shangyu and Gong Lixin walked back and form in between the narrow fields and were enchanted by the beauty of the sight in front of them.
In the paddy fields, men went shirtless, burying their heads to harvest rice ears and the women had headscarves tied on and wore an apron as they bundled the harvested ears of rice into the granary. In front of the granary, not too far away, there was a machine that de-eared the rice and then spread it out on the open ground. Everyone was sweating, but their eyes and brows were filled with joy.
Where did this look like the apocalyptic days? It’s clearly a picture of a busy farming day.
“This is good!” Jin Shangyu sighed loudly. Seeing Gong Xiangyi and Old Lin approaching while holding little babies, she hurried over to them.
Gong Lixin saw them and approached them with a smile.
“Do the babies talk?” Jin Shangyu asked, curiously looking at Gong Xiangyi holding a cute little baby girl holding an ear of rice in her hands.
“Not yet. It’s only seven months old. It should two months later or so.” Gong Xiangyi wiped the saliva from the corner of the baby’s mouth with her fingers, a mother’s love was revealed from her eyes.
Gong Lixin teased the little baby boy in Old Lin’s arms. The little guy and Lin Wenbo were carved out of the same mold, the little boy was very handsome.
“When does Song Haoran need one? I don’t know how many girls on the base are willing to conceive for him and become pregnant mothers today! Our base should now follow the policies of the early days of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China and encourage everyone to have more children.” Seeing the young man’s flustered expression, Old Lin gave an understanding smile and looked at Jin Shangyu and said, “The girl Lingyu announced her pregnancy a few days ago as well. Yuanhang gave her 50kg of food as celebratory gift. You and Li Dongsheng waited long enough. When will you two drink the wedding wine?”
Jin Shangyu’s cheeks were flushed. A glimpse of a man standing in the distance and staring at Gong Xiangyi gave Jin Shangyu the opportunity to change subjects. “Hey~ He’s here again. What good things did he bring for the mother and daughter this time? Forgive him already. After all, as the children’s parents who’ve lived during the apocalypse and know how fleeting happiness is, we cannot deprive the children of their right to happiness!”
Seeing Liao Fan not far away, the smile on Gong Xiangyi’s face disappeared in an instant. She started to walk home immediately with the child in her arms.
Liao Fan was very lucky. After being arrested, Gong Xiangyi also discovered the fact that she was pregnant. Father Gong couldn’t murder the father of his grandson, so he finally chose to expel Liao Fan. Liaocheng, who had been with him, died, but he didn’t do anything to stop it. Liao Fan was very smart. After a few months, he dived back to Wucheng and found a large-bellied Gong Xiangyi.
The joy at that moment couldn’t be described by words. Liao Fan restrained the urge to hug Gong Xiangyi back then and secretly left Wucheng. On that day, he became a wandering mercenary, striving to improve his strength in hopes of getting Gong Xiangyi back again. Every two months, no matter how many injuries he suffered, he would rush back to Wucheng. Father Gong has already acquiesced his presence as the other only looked at the mother and daughter from a distance.
Only being able to look from afar was already the greatest happiness for him, enough to let him live like hell on Earth.
Gong Xiangyi walked too hurriedly and tripped over a grass stalk on the roadside and was about to fall. Gong Lixin and Jin Shangyu had not time to help. At that moment, a sand wall suddenly appeared in front of her, catching her falling body. Protected by soft sand, neither mother nor daughter were injured.
Not far away, Liao Fan secretly breathes a sigh of relief.
Gong Xiangyi turned her head, gave him a complicated look before slowly walking away.
Grandfather Lin’s eyes darkened and he also left with his great-grandson. A child’s skin was too delicate to be exposed to the sun for such a long time. Moreover, he felt that the other child could not live without a father, so it was time to talk to Yuanhang and let him persuade Xiangyi. It’s so dangerous outside. Maybe one day, Liao Fan would never come back and then, it would be too late for Xiangyi to regret it.
Gong Lixin cautiously held the baby as he sent Old Lin back to his courtyard. When the great-grandfather and great-grandson were settled, he turned back to the farmland and watched with relish as people harvested rice.
“How come you’re out at this time? Hurry back, the sun is shining!”
After Song Haoran and Lin Wenbo cut through the border of the rice fields, they stood up and saw Gong Lixin over the rice stalks. They looked at their handsome young man and immediately came over with a distressed expression on their faces. At the beginning, Lixin’s meridians were ruined and whenever he was touched, he felt a lot of pain. The two were really frightened by this rare and fragile appearance of his and felt terrified.
“My skills have recovered by half; how can I still be so fragile? Come here and give me a sickle.” The young man’s face was eager to try, saying that he would learn from Song Haoran and Lin Wenbo and also go shirtless.
“Don’t take it off!” Song Haoran’s face became dark and he grabbed the young man’s white wrist to stop him.
In the past two days, he helped collect rice stalks and saw the tattoos of Lixin on those ability users. Then he realized how popular his lover was. His rivals were far more than he thought and he became completely anxious.
“We’re done. Let’s go back. A few days ago, Xiaoyu brewed a few jars of rice wine; very fragrant and sweet. Do you want to try it?” Lin Wenbo wiped the sweat from his forehead and tempted the other. With sufficient food, wine was no longer a luxury.
“Alright, let’s go back.” When speaking of eating, Gong Lixin’s were as bright as ever.
Song Haoran handed his friend an appreciative glance as both of them guarded the young man from the left and right side before they slowly walked to their small courtyard.
Rice wine was really fragrant and sweet, but it also packed quite a punch. The young man’s cheeks were flushed and he lazily snuggled into Lin Wenbo’s arms. His palms moved up and down on the other’s sweaty, honey-coloured chest. His eyes were already dyed a layer of tempting peach pink colour and his posture was extremely sensual.
Two clusters of dark fire ignited in Song Haoran’s eyes. He hugged the young man’s lean waist from behind and licked and kissed the other’s snowy white neck vigorously.
“It’s time for dual cultivation!” The young man bit Lin Wenbo’s earlobe and pit out nonsensical words.
The heat in the room increased and the battle was fierce as the three entangled together. It was so fierce that the three didn’t notice there was someone quietly watching outside the window and left as quietly.
Jin Shanghui jumped in from the window into Jin Shangyu’s laboratory. He walked to a corner and dropped his trousers before gently fingering his soft little Xiaohui with his fingers. Although he was expressionless and silent, as well as sloppy, as he did so, but it showed that he was a bit frustrated and depressed.
Seeing his quiet but obvious behaviour, Jin Shangyu put down the work at hand and asked helplessly, “Did you go and see Gong Lixin make love again?”
Jin Shanghui murmured lowly. He could now speak some simple sentences.
“Workers must sharpen their tools if they want to do their best at work. Come here, drink this bottle of medicine and keep persevering for a few years so that you can stand up down there. Brother, be optimistic. You must be if you want to take Gong Lixin, you know.” Holding a bottle of red potion in front of his brother, Jin Shangyu smiled and coaxed the other.
Jin Shanghui’s expression showed his ignorance. He obviously didn’t understand the enigmatic encouragement of his sister. But seeing his sister pointing at his little Xiaohui and make a firm gesture, he suddenly realized something and quickly took the potion and drank it up.
(Part of) Author’s Note:
This marks the end of the story. If I were to continue to write, this survival novel will turn into a farming novel instead. Originally, I had planned to include more male leads, but I ended up settling for two. I wasn’t able to break my record in the end. To be honest, I really like Dou Heng, but if I let him eat the main character, he wouldn’t be the same Dou Heng I have in my mind. So I got in his way and gave him an ambivalent ending instead. This way, he can be mine forever. As for He Jin, he didn’t appear in the story for a long time, and when he came back, I didn’t have any feelings for him anymore~ I hate how fickle I can be sometimes! *Punch floor*
CrazedCookies: So…I translated part of the author’s note. I didn’t translate any of the author’s note for this ReadNovelFull since some of them were long and MTL didn’t translate them that well for me to…make something coherent. I translated PART of this author’s note since it explained why Dou Heng and He Jin….happened.